Depths of Malachor
by Darth Apophas
Summary: Set after the events of the season two finale, she had just faced her former master. Now Ahsoka finds herself alive but trapped on Malachor with no food, water an no means of escape. She has to find her way out but as she does, secrets will be revealed, about her and the galaxy...
1. Beneath the surface

Darkness is coming. There is no doubt of that. If you think that we are finally safe from evil, you're wrong. After the revival of Malachor a new danger has arisen; something is stirring in the unknown regions, a fertile place in which evil could develop into something unstoppable. From the ashes of this hellscape a fire will rage and the galaxy will burn. One chapter in this infinite saga is over but another begins.

 _The priests of silver shores_

 _The guardians of sand and stone_

 _The Jedi of the force_

 _Shall return to their hold_

 _And the bells will ring as a new hope returns_

 _But all the joys will turn silent_

 _And the galaxy will drown and burn_

It was dark and silent, both in spirit and in reality. There are dark places in the galaxy where few tread, ancient places of learning, of knowledge, places which slip under the gaze of the Jedi, domains in which the dark side grows in strength. If there was one place which the Jedi feared to walk, a place which holds nothing but regret and remorse in its very core, a reminder to the republics' failures and a message to the Jedi never to interfere with war again. Malachor was that place. A graveyard to Jedi, Sith and Mandolorians alike; no matter who you were, no matter what doctrine you follow, light or dark, Ashla or Bogan. Malachor is a forbidden planet: and for good reason. But as time unwinds truth turns into myth and by the time of the Galactic Empire all knowledge of that ancient war was lost. Whether it was the will of the force or just by fate, what should have never been forgotten was lost. Now, (due to the loss of the Jedi archive) only a select few know of what transpired on this planet millennia ago, only a select few know of the scourge of Malachor...

It was dark and silent, even when the sun rose over the fifth planet in the system it was still terribly dark. The lack of light was a testament to the force energy that radiated from the planet, it would have been the perfect location for the Empire to build a temple to the dark side but it never happened. The planet was beyond the outer rim in the unknown regions of the galaxy, too far away from the emperors reach. But the main reason Palpatine chose to ignore this place was because not even he would dare walk upon its forsaken soil. Darkness resides within Malachor, a force that sickens even the darkest of Sith Lords. This place was perhaps worse than Korriban and Ziost combined, because this energy had the stench of death upon it. Many a Jedi have fallen here, some more recent than others...

That was where she was. She was trapped in the one place where all beings feared to be. She was thought to have been killed, cut down by her former master. But now she faces something worse. No-one knows why Vader spared her life; was it out of kindness, was there still a bit of Anakin left within that armor or was it because death would be merciful. Here on Malachor, death would be kind. The planet is like a disease; the more you are exposed to it the more likely you are to fall. The Planet is the dark side, and Ahsoka is stranded there with no means of escape...

She wakes up from a nightmare. Having envisioned those last few moments when she said goodbye to her friend Anakin, and walked away from the Jedi temple she heard those same few lines from the temple at Lothal, words that piece her soul with sorrow and regret. _Ahsoka, why did you leave? Do you know what I've become?_ And she awoke, still hearing that cybernetic breathing in her head she soon realised what had happened, and where she was. "Malachor" she remembered, and with that name it all came back to her; Maul, the inquisitors' deaths, the Holocron Ezra found in the temple and of course that memorable duel with the one who killed her master, Vader. With her memory returning she looked around at her surroundings to see where she was, she knew it was Malachor but everything about the planet was a mystery. As a youngling she only heard myths and rumours about this ancient world, to say its name was to swear. Only through meditation could she find the planet which led her to believe that it was the will of the force that led her, Kanan and Ezra here. _At least they got what they came for_ she thought to herself as she was manoeuvring through the ruined caverns, but as her journey continued she began to doubt whether the Holocron was what they came for, Master Yoda told them to find Malachor but what about the planet is so important that they need to go there, _what knowledge do we need in order to stop the sith_. The sickness of the dark side was already infecting her, already doubt had entered her head, the same doubt she had in herself when she faced Vader. She knew that she needed to leave, find Kanan and Ezra and learn what secrets that Holocron carries. But before all that, she has to get of the planet.

One thing that annoyed her most however was the lack of her Lightsabers. "Not again!" she complained, if there were someone else within a mile of her they would now be alerted to her presence. Her white blades were with her when she faced Vader in the uppermost part of the temple where the Holocron was, But Ahsoka was not in the Holocron chamber, she was in some dank, dark and dismal stone corridor some way beneath the temple, the corridor was a void. Because she had no Lightsabers she couldn't see where she was going, "looks like the force must guide me" she reassured herself questionably as that doubt which had previously entered her head was now clouding her judgement making her blind to see where she was going. And blind to an attack.

At last some light! The occasional glimmer through the ceiling cracks told her that it must be mid-day on Malachor. This allowed her finally to see where she was going and to no surprise the reason the corridor seemed endless was because she was going in circles which just aggravated her further, thinking aloud now she said frustratingly "c'mon Fulcrum your better than this! If you can fend off a Sith Lord then you can find a way out of this temple". Ahsoka always felt more relaxed when she was alone, when she was with the Ghost crew she always acted as a sainted mentor, the truth was she was no different than the young girl who left the Jedi all those years ago. But no matter how much she tried to remain calm she thinks of Anakin and what he did, the thought of that made her angry and more determined to leave this planet. The sickness was growing.

Ahsoka picked up the pace and found a way out into a large open cavern with surprisingly flowing water. She took this as an opportunity to replenish her strength, she ran down the stairs to an old fountain that had been ruined for quite some time. Its disrepair made the water flow out from the fountain through cracks and openings into a courtyard, what was once perhaps a training ground for force users is now nothing but a shallow lake with boulders and statues as islands separating the shallow ocean. Ahsoka went to the shore line and without hesitating drank from the pool...

The taste was nothing like she had expected, it was sweet and hydrating, cold but reviving. The more she drank the more energetic she felt. Malachor was a barren wasteland, from pole to pole everything is dead but this spring that Ahsoka is now drinking from made her feel, alive. The after taste however was bitter as she noticed much rock and soil had diluted into the liquid but she overlooked this issue as water with a horrid after taste was better than no water at all. The sun was now directly above the temple, this mid-day light shone through the ceiling cracks; these miniature holes directed the light into the cavern which Ahsoka was now recuperating. She spared enough time from re-hydrating to see that the ceiling light seemed as though the stars were shining down upon the fountain courtyard, the water shone silver and the gushing waterfalls were now pouring diamond liquid into the pool.

Ahsoka looked into the water, as she looked into the lake she could see how things were supposed to be, she saw what things would have been like if she accepted the Jedi's offer to return to the order. She saw the end of the clone wars, she saw herself and Anakin enjoying their adventures together and she saw a person with them, it was her Padawan. As she became more enticed by the lake's vision she forgot where she was and with her wanting to go back to the way things were she fell into the water. As the water entered her lungs she woke from her dream and quickly leapt out of the water! She gasped for air as she crawled back to the shore line, "what's happening to me?" she finally realised that something was not right. She has been alone before but never has she experienced something like this place, not even Mortis has had an effect on her like Malachor. "I have to get out!" she ordered herself as she stood up and headed towards the stairway. Suddenly the lake became dark again, the sun had moved on and the silver pool was no more. Ahsoka sighed as her visible light was now significantly less but there was still one speck of blue light from within the lake, she knelt down to the shore line to get a closer look.

The blue light appeared to be concentrated to a single point, not a reflection in the water but something within the lake slightly peeking through the ash bed. After observing the almost hypnotic light Ahsoka reached in and grasped the light. The rummaging caused the ash to swish around the area so all Ahsoka could go on was her sense of touch; she felt what seemed like metal, a cylindrical shaped metal. As the dust settled the blue light pierced back through the water "what is it" she asked herself as she picked up the source of the light. As she grasped the object and raised it to her face her questions were answered. She was holding a Lightsaber...

The blue light was the still active Kyber Crystal within the shattered weapon, peeking through the cracks of the Sabre. The hilt was of similar design to the green Lightsaber Ezra discovered previously, but this one was blue. The hilt was barely holding together; the sabres' once sleek body work is now little more than an endoskeleton of the ancient sabre. The design was prehistoric. It has been millennia since the cross guard Lightsabers were used by the Jedi and yet dozens were here on Malachor: the graveyard of the Force. "Why are there so many cross guard Lightsabers here?" she queried, "the cross guard Lightsabers were rarely used even thousands of years ago, the counsel cancelled the production of these Lightsabers, though no-one knew why..." she became so enticed in the mystery that this planet presented that she let her guard down a little too much.

As she was investigating the hilt further a dark figure crept down the flight of stairs towards Ahsoka, unfortunately for this shadowy individual the entire planet was in disrepair and his shady movement cause some sound as he crept across some ashes. Ahsoka heard this and quickly turned, raised the Lightsaber for defence and without hesitating ignited the weapon! The figure leapt at the former Jedi and it too had a weapon it ignited for attack, a red Lightsaber: the weapon of the dark side.

When the two Lightsabers clashed the light emitted from them revealed that the attacker was in fact an inquisitor! It was the same inquisitor that she and Kanan captured previously and thought dead. "You, you were supposed to be dead!" Ahsoka was confused as to how he escaped the fall but all her queries were pushed aside due to her current predicament, "Because of you, I already am!" His voice was reeking with hate and his physical prowess was fuelled by anger, "which is bad for you Jedi, because now I've got nothing more to lose!" The two unlocked blades, Ahsoka crouched and jumped to avoid the various heavy lashes produced by her assailant, his sparring skills were profound but Ahsoka used all her abilities to doge the attacks. Although she preferred using two Lightsabers she was in dire need and so she quickly associated herself with the blue Lightsaber and how that fighting style worked. The inquisitor managed to cut Ahsokas' leg causing her to fall to her knees, in response she raised the blue blade above her head to halt the inquisitors attempted hit at her. However something was happening to Ahsokas Lightsaber, it was ancient and broken, the red blade that the inquisitor was using was also broken; the blade was sparking, cackling and uncertain but it was still holding on to life after Kanan hit it back at the Holocron chamber. Ahsokas blade was fading away, one final spark from the hilt and the light was gone. With her primary weapon dead there was nothing now but her wits to protect her...

She jumped out of the way before her opponent managed to land his Lightsaber onto her; she managed to regain her stamina, rolled behind the inquisitor and made a series of flamboyant kicks and punches at his back and legs. He quickly twirled around to face her again using his Lightsaber for defence as he did, in an effort to confuse him she somersaulted over him back to the shoreline and likewise he flipped and turned showing an array of acrobatic skills in hopes to create fear in her. But it was just a rouse, thinking that he will come to her Ahsoka stood in a defensive position forgetting that like her he too had the force, and he was about to use it. He suddenly stopped his balletic performance and thrust his arm forward propelling Ahsoka out into the lake! As she was flying through the air her heels skimmed the water line and a massive thump occurred when she collided with one of the fallen pillars of the chamber. The collision made her fall into the water with the attacker leaping at her; he grabbed her by the shoulders keeping her head below the water line, she was struggling for breath, her lungs slowly filling with the mystical water, she was alone and soon she would become what all her comrades thought she was, dead.

With her last ounce of strength she used all her energy to force push the inquisitor into the ceiling making him drop his double-bladed Lightsaber. She resurfaced still holding him in place, as she was regaining air she became distracted and the inquisitor had a chance of escape. He raised his arm to his sabre and utilized the force so that it would be propelled directly into his hand. As it landed the Lightsaber ignited sending a level of shock into Ahsoka making her lose concentration and then losing him. He landed back onto the ground making a loud splash as he hit the water, sparks and steam rose when the blade reacted with the liquid, Ahsoka was exhausted and there was no sign of anyone winning this duel. There was no-way out, only one was going to get out of this chamber alive.

A long wait ensued with the two staring sharply into each other's eyes, they both were anticipating the others move and plotting in their heads how to respond, time passed; a few seconds, a minute, two? No-one can tell because time was nothing here, only what to do in that time. But longevity got the better of the inquisitor and he broke the annoying silence by launching his double-bladed into air with Ahsoka as its destination. In response Ahsoka leaped out of the way and landed on the shore line, the doorway at the top of the stairs were free for her to escape, _finally a chance to get out_ she thought, she could have continued to fight but she needed her strength and her knee scar had endangered her enough. She turned and ran up the stairs "FACE ME COWARD!" the inquisitor projected "Join the Jedi in extinction!", as she reached half way she felt a great pull on her and before she could respond she fell back to the shore line and was paralyzed to the spot, frozen to the ground. She could see the inquisitor slowly approaching her with his right arm raised towards her and his left grasping the Lightsaber.

He chuckled to himself silently "how ironic fate can be, Vader spoke highly of you, said you were formidable, powerful, merciless. Believe me Vader rarely compliments anyone let alone a Jedi. And yet here you are, about to fall at the hands of the weakling eighth brother" a sense of remorse built up in his manner "if only my brothers and sisters could see me now, then maybe I would be given a better task than an idiotic man hunt for an old Zabrak!" Ahsoka was stuck but quick to respond "and you couldn't even do that" perhaps getting the eighth brother angry at this moment was not the best move for Ahsoka but by this point; no ship, no weapons, no means of escape and all her companions think that she is dead. So why not finish the deed, better to die swiftly at the hands of an inquisitor than to be consumed by madness on Malachor. The eighth brother felt relieved, _now I will do what the great Lord Vader could not_ his mind was focused on the prospect of him killing the female, the reward of doing so, avenging all the inquisitors that have died before him. He raised his Lightsaber mere centimetres from her forehead, sparks emanate from the blade, the heat burning Ahsokas face, the anticipation of death coming closer and closer. He pulled his blade back and thrust it forward! At the last possible moment his concentration died and Ahsoka leapt out of the path of the swing, she landed on the floor next to him expecting him to retaliate but as she looked up she noticed something completely unexpected. There standing was the inquisitor frozen in his attacking position and the blade held in place by another individual...

This third figure was shrouded in a pitch black cloak; a skeletal hand physically holding back the red blade, behind the overhanging hood lays a sinister grin and a dark aurora surrounding the black mass. The figure simply let go of the blade causing it to short circuit and a sudden burst of energy propelled him to the floor! Ahsoka watched helplessly as the water around them began to shine silver again, it began to swish and swash and from the center of the courtyard a massive whirlpool opened dragging surrounding debris into it. As though something court hold of the eighth brother he too was being dragged towards the opening; his screams echoed through the temple, his cries for help fell on deaf ears and his struggling came to no avail! "Please you do not have to do this!" Ahsoka begged the dark figure to release him but there was no answer, only the continuation of the ordeal. Before she could do anything the inquisitor was swallowed by the shallow ocean and the whirlpool closed shut soon after, the water remained its chrome like appearance but Ahsoka could not enjoy the scenery because she could not even comprehend what had just occurred. She stood and turned to the ghostly apparition "what was that? Who are you!" the figure turned and as if it could not hear her, walked up the stairs away from the pool, "TELL ME!" Ahsoka had never felt angrier than now; even facing Vader had not created such mental turmoil than now.

The full force of her voice made the figure stop in its tracks mid-way up the stairs. It turned deathly back to her, and spoke, "who I am is not the question you should be asking" its voice was deep and broken, as though this person has seen a lot in its lifetime, it had the manner of a mentor, someone who knows and believes what they are saying. Ahsoka played its riddle and responded forcefully "I am Ahsoka Tano, Jedi consular, Jedi knight and rebel to the empire!" she spoke proudly of that fact and even though she said to Vader she was not, she claimed now that she was a Jedi, but her opponent thought differently. "That is what you say, but is that what you believe?" Fulcrum was getting mad of the riddles this figure was spouting "so tell me then, what am I?" there was a moment of silence before the response "perhaps we can find out together" Ahsoka resorted to her Padawan years and shrugged of this _things'_ offer "all I want is to get off this rock" this time the response was almost instantaneous "my dear to escape Malachor is to escape ones fate" the figure walked back down the stairs towards her, Ahsoka felt threatened as it moved towards her "which is?" she asked not truthfully wanting an answer "death. Death is a doorway we all must go through, the final judgement to all beings, it calls to us, and it calls to you. To escape Malachor is to turn down that calling" Ahsoka knew that leaving this planet was going to be difficult but she wasn't going to let these words stop her "I'm not afraid of you and I'm certainly not afraid of death" with one final word of its twisted encouragement "there are far more terrifying things than death child, you will have to face all of them if you are to succeed" the figure raised its crippled hand and pressed it on Ahsokas forehead causing a massive epileptic display occur in Ahsokas eyes and with a flash of light she fell into a deep trance. She thought that escaping Malachor was the challenge; the real challenge however was escaping her inevitable fate, death.


	2. Dream of a Republic

Drowning, eternally drowning. There is little more to say on how Ahsoka felt as she fell asleep, her mind was a labyrinth of thoughts, feelings and emotions. Nothing was certain, everything on the line and her entire life's history put into question. She was drowning in her mind. Water was filling her lungs, reality was taking over and she soon realised that she was drowning in the real world as well. She swam as fast as her weakened arms could manage, swimming desperately towards the surface, if she knew where it was. Soon by a lack of oxygen and strength she drifted back into her sub-conscious, as she was drowning, she was thinking, thinking of a time before.

She suddenly woke up! Her body was fine, her lungs clear and her surroundings peaceful. She was in a very memorable place, the Jedi Temple, her home. She was lying in her quarters surrounded by lush furnishings, smooth fabrics and memorabilia of the clone wars, war trophies and droid parts reminding her of times she thought long gone. But it was not gone, she was there. It was there. She got up and looked out the window to see Coruscant in all its majestic glory; the towers that reached into the sky, the infinite amount of star ships racing across the planet, and the sun. Ahsoka never thought that she would have missed the sunlight, the heat on her face, for the first time in a long while she slowed down and lived in the moment. She could have stood there forever if not for the abrupt knock at the door. "Hello?" she said cautiously still not entirely sure if what she was experiencing was real or fake. "Ahsoka, are you in there!" the voice from the other side of the door was muffled but Ahsoka knew who it was, that soft unmistakable tone. "Barriss?" she jumped at the opportunity to see her old friend, she swung open the door to reveal the Mirialan Padawan, "Barriss!" she cried, last time she saw her was before the clone wars, when her friend betrayed her…

"Barriss what are you doing here?" Ahsoka suspiciously asked as her friend clutched her arm and dragged her out into the corridor "more precisely Ahsoka what are you doing here?" Her mind was unable to comprehend Barris's demeanor; the last time they saw each other Ahsoka was in court, on trial and about to face arrest for a crime Barriss committed. She remembered her former friends' face as the Temple guards took her away. The fear, the hatred, hatred for the order and what they stood for. And yet here she was, just as she remembered her, right down to the markings on her face. It was at this point that Ahsoka realised she had been asked a question "what?" that was all she could muster. "Wow, that last mission must have really did something to you" Ahsoka's face said it all, her eyes screaming i have no idea what in the force you're talking about, Barriss read this and decided to explain "training, we've got combat training in the sparring arena, master Skywalker's waiting for you, you're telling me you don't remember". Ahsoka's joyful dream was becoming a nightmare "Anakin's waiting for me?" Just then fear was seeping through her, could she face him? Was it him? She looked at herself, the ash and dust was gone, her skin was clean but more importantly her skin was soft. On her belt she noticed one lightsaber and a sholto. They were her original weapons back in the clone wars. She was exactly as she was before she left. What was the dream and what was the real world? She didn't care, if there was any chance of going back on her decision she would take it. "Yeah training, right!" there was a pause, she took one last look out the window and then back to Barriss "let's not keep them waiting then". And like two sisters they went off down the corridor.

"I guess i'm going to have to wait until you've finished your jedi training" said a male voice from behind them. Ahsoka couldn't believe it, her best friend and now him?! She turned just to confirm it was him, it was! "Lux!" She ran into him and they exchanged a massive hug. Barriss was slightly shocked at the affection her friend expressed towards him but shook it off, she was glad for Ahsoka. "Lux what are you doing here?" if there's one thing Ahsoka remembers about the boy from Onderon it's that he never was too keen about the Republic, but here he was in the capital. "I was just helping senator Amidala negotiating the peace treaty. I came to see you. And see if the temple was as grand as they say, or rather didn't say cos, y'know separatist propaganda and all" the more she listened the more she learned about this new galaxy, this better galaxy. "Ahsoka We've gotta go!" Barriss was gesturing her to follow, Ahsoka quickly turned to Lux "i've gotta go" she smiled a genuine smile, all thought of prior events were escaping her. She was just too happy with the world she was in "of course, i'll see you later yeah"

She watched as Lux walked off; his presence faded off into the distance, she turned to face Barriss but she wasn't there, no-one was. Ahsoka looked puzzled but then the once bright sunlight turned to darkened night in a split second. Her throat became heavy, she coughed heavily but instead of blood coming out, came a silvery liquid, that same liquid from Malachor. She was drowning from the inside out, she fell to her hands and knees and as she looked down on the floor, slowly getting her breath back, she heard a voice. "Ahsoka, Ahsoka, Ahsoka" like with the many voices before this one too was familiar, but she couldn't believe it, "Ahsoka, Ahsoka!" the voice was getting closer, it couldn't really be him, could it, she didn't need confirmation, because she knew exactly who it was, "Anakin…"


	3. nightmare of an Empire

When she whispered that word, the approaching voice had ceased. She regained her composure and stood up but it was still ever so dark. The only light was from the stars and Coruscant's three moons shining down on the blackened city. Although the voice was silent, the presence was there and knowing not what would happen next, Ahsoka spoke out into the emptiness "Do you regret leaving the Jedi? Leaving the republic?" She heard footsteps approaching her from behind, she wanted to face him, but like before she couldn't. "Do you?" a shiver rippled down her spine, she took a deep breath and turned to him, her master.

When she looked upon him she expected some decrepit in a suit of armor, or some lonely soul with piercing red eyes. But he was just the same old Anakin; the same hazel coloured hair, the same blue eyes and even the same clothes. But in his eyes she could see the disappointment, the resentment, she knew why. "No, I do not regret leaving the Jedi, but you have no idea how much I regret leaving you" she approached him, yearning for some compassion, but he just stood there, empty of any emotion, she took a step back and continued to express herself "when I left, I thought that you would forget, that you would move on. And then you contacted me. You told me that the chancellor was in trouble, that only you and I could save him" his eyes were fixed on her, he knew of this tale, but what Ahsoka did not know was what happened after she turned him down "I'm sorry Anakin that I didn't help you, I thought that if i spoke to you in person then we could work things out but-" his patience with her ran out "-but you had no idea that by not helping me, you my young Padawan had condemned the galaxy" A look of terror was across her face "what?" she wanted to know but at the same time didn't "I was alone; my Padawan left me, the war seemed to have no end, I was given a seat on the council but denied my rightful rank as Master, I was made a laughing stock to all Jedi. The only light I saw in my life was the one that I had the potential to be a father, that I could love, that I could be happy for once but even that was in question. Only my wife believed in me, the rest of them feared me. And they were right to do so".

Ahsoka was shocked, what is he talking about? She thought I know I left but that was all! "Anakin, you're not making any sense, come back! Come back to us before it's too late!" tears began falling from her eyes, all she wanted was her friend back "we need you Sky-Guy" he looked away from her, torment was within him, Ahsoka knew there was still light in him, she just needs to find a way to convince him "everything I did, I did because I had to. I did it in the name of Sanity, security, unity. I did it in the name of the Empire" with that he ignited his Blue Lightsaber and took imposing strides towards Ahsoka "Anakin, no, please, NO!" his eyes turned fiery red and then he leaped at her, slamming the saber down on her.

She ignited her green and yellow sabers, placed them in a cross position to block Anakin's attack. Both of them were pushing against the other, sparks flaring from the blades, illuminating the hallway "don't take this personal Ahsoka, I actually respect what you did. You figured out that the order was corrupt long before I ever did. But the fact of the matter is, you are the last remnant of Anakin Skywalker, and I can't let anything left of him live" the two parted blades but only so Anakin could launch several swings at Ahsoka. She used her green saber to block the oncoming strikes and the yellow blade to strike back at him, but only so that he would stay back. But like a mad dog he kept on going for her. "I seem to remember a similar duel like this back on Mortis only I was in your position and you in mine, you didn't have the strength to defeat me then snips, you certainly don't have the strength now" with every hit Ahsoka was pushed back towards the wall, her strength failing her, she was cornered!

"You can't run from your master forever" he approaches her, clutching his saber in his hand. A sudden lightning strike altered their surroundings and appearance. Ahsoka returned to her adult looks, she was kneeling in front of Vader, they were both back in the Holocron chamber at the sith temple. He raised his red lightsaber to her head, death was all but certain for her. "You're right, I can't run forever, I made mistakes, I have to face the consequences" she dropped her weapons to the floor, she closed her eyes, ready for the final blow. Vader's breathing became heavier than usual, he readied his blade for one last strike at his former Padawan. Without hesitation he struck Ahsoka…


	4. An unlikely intruder

"You're right, I can't run forever, I made mistakes, I have to face the consequences" she dropped her weapons to the floor, she closed her eyes, ready for the final blow. Vader's breathing became heavier than usual, he readied his blade for one last strike at his former Padawan. Without hesitation he struck Ahsoka.

Meanwhile, high above the clouds…

As night fell over the fifth planet in the system, as always, there was silence. It is difficult to imagine nothingness. In any normal planet there is at least some vague sound in the distant background, a miniscule movement of something. Even if you couldn't see it, millions upon millions of bacteria racing across the empty air, atoms reacting with one another. The universe is a busy place. But Malachor was different. There was no sound from the littlest of creatures, no movement from even the smallest dust particles, they just settled on the ground, footprints and other marks were permanent for all eternity for there was no wind. The clouds were forever still and the earth was forever flat. No-food, no water, no hope.

But on this night of all nights things were to change; Kanan, Ezra, Maul, even Vader left the planet without any intention of going back. They all thought that Malachor had played its part, the Holocron was found, that was all they needed. But Yoda sent them there for a reason. The only problem though is why. This planet still holds secrets that if discovered would change the course of the galaxy. And the most unlikely individual is about to stumble upon them.

High in the upper atmosphere of the planet a simple, ordinary craft is about to make its final descent. It bore no distinct markings, signifying that its pilot holds no allegiance to either the Empire, the Mandalorians, the Hutt clan or any of the Rebel factions that are scattered across the galaxy. This vessel was independent. The craft was of an old design; the outer casing turned to rust, the joints were stiff and its functions were little. The ship was clearly cheap to purchase on the Cartel Market and not designed for exploration in the Outer Rim; it had no weapons, an unreliable hyperdrive and an extremely weak deflector shield. Which might explain why its "descent" looks more like a crash landing.

In order to observe it your eyes must be the eyes of a cyborg. Its dive into the planet was so quick and sudden, it looked more like a celestial being had dropped it rather than it landing. For the pilot however it wasn't so quick. He could not see the surface from his cockpit, the clouds blanketing the planet was thick and grey, matching the ground. The countless spins as it plummeted made the pilot disoriented, what was the sky and what was the ground? If he planned his mission better he could have judged his location based on the sun, but it was nighttime and the dense fog blocked out any moonlight.

With a colossal BANG!, the ship collided with the earth. As the dust settled there was little sign of movement. Suddenly from within the wreckage a blaster shot threw the door open. And out emerged a man.

A human man to be precise, although only based on his physique, his face has been concealed by a shroud, though his arms were bare, and they do resemble that of a human. Again, very little unique features about him, the clothing is basic mercenary gear, he carries a blaster rifle across his back and a belt which carries the basic amenities such as thermal detonators, food rations, kolto packs and surprisingly, a lightsaber. Something you don't see often. Well it wasn't the fanciest lightsaber in the galaxy, in fact it only just about resembles one. Its wiring and circuitry were on show and it was small. Almost as if it were designed for a child or smaller species. The only other distinct feature about this individual was a tattoo on his lower right arm, it bore the looks of a human hand print with an inverted cross at its centre. It was actually blinking red, sporadically as well, almost as if his tattoo was a siren, telling him to run away.

As he surveys the wreckage he takes a few strides to escape the chunks of metal and the growing fire, no doubt what was left of the fuel exhaust. He quickens his pace and reaches a safe distance away from the crash site only to look back on it. He puts his hands on his hips and looks upon the damage he caused. "Well I don't think I'm leaving anytime soon" his voice was deep but his tone was light hearted, his manner suggested that he didn't care that he was stranded on this desolate rock. And with that comment there was a ferocious explosion from what was left of the ship, "and there goes the fuel cells" he smiled as small pieces of ship rained down upon him, as the smoke settled he wandered off and removed his shroud to reveal his face. He was a young blond haired man, or boy, more like young adult. His complexion matched that of the ship, unwashed and forgotten. His stubble was uncut and there was a ring of dirt around his eyes to show that he usually wears goggles. He walked off into the distance towards some other wreckage.

His destination was far away so he had time to think and prepare, from his belt he got out a holo-recorder, a simple logging device that records one voice. This man prefers to have an excuse to talk to himself, other than just saying he's weird. "Mission log- no that's not good, this is the recording of- no that sounds too serious, okay whatever, to whatever soul that recovers this recording, firstly what are you doing here, and secondly, no seriously what are you doing here" as he looks into the distance he sees a crater of rubble, surrounded by a ring of columns that reach into the sky, that's where he needs to go. "I suppose you need to know my name if your gonna write about me, I'm Eranus Shan, Eran to my friends, if I had any that is. And I'm here because, well, I'm just here okay"

Eran approached one of the columns, beyond that lies a deep crater filled to the brim with boulders and wreckage. "It seems that I'm not the first to have arrived here" he speaks into his recorder as he looks over the rubble "it appears that I am standing in front of a cave in, there is little activity on the surface, i'm guessing the fun stuff is going on down there", he kneels to the ground to observe it further "the ground that hasn't caved in on itself looks scorched. No ash on the surface, it's all smooth, almost as if the entire planet has been petrified, or solidified as a result of some mass explosion or eruption. But if the rubble is anything to go by the earth beneath the ground has been turned to ash. So, initial analysis is that whatever happened here has affected the planet to its very core."

he got up to his feet to inspect the column, it was difficult to read any symbols on it as it was incredibly damaged, he placed his right hand on the pillar, his tattoo was screaming red now, but he took no notice of it. However when he did, a whisper entered his head, not his own voice, but something else, something foreign. "You don't belong here, your arrival was not foretold, leave this place, now". Eran instantly let go of the column and reached for the recorder "well that was interesting, I just heard a voice telling me to leave, unfortunately for the voice, tell me not to do something and that's exactly what I want to do" he put the recorder away and descended into a large opening, even though he knew it could lead to a dead end he went in none the less, just to annoy whatever was trying to commune with him.

The descent into the cave was long and arduous. The amount of twists and turns were seemingly endless, he had to crouch and climb over various pieces of statue and boulders, but there was no dead end, so Eran kept on going, hoping to find something worth his time. He went further deeper, eventually light was beginning to disappear and the only light was his blinking red mark on his arm.

He struggled through one last gap, the pressure he put on trying to get through made him fall forward into a large cavern. He brushed of any dirt and looked out into his surroundings. He could hardly see anything. Just the empty darkness. "Well this won't work" he reached for the crude lightsaber on his blade and set it a light. The blade shone bright yellow and it illuminated his surrounding area, though the distant area was still darkened. He carefully walks forward using the yellow blade as a torch to light his way. He directs it to the floor to see if there were any obstacles but instead he sees remnants of bodies and weapons He picks up one of the various lightsabers, he did not activate it, only looked at the cross guard design, grinned and threw it into the distance. He uses his free hand to go to his recorder. "Good news, I think I've found it" he takes his steps forward with surprisingly a spring in his steps "there are obvious signs of a battle here, my guess is, two or three thousand years ago based on the ancient lightsaber design" he took a few more steps before he reached a massive gateway, he had found it "a sith temple, or what's left of it"

Eran reached out to inspect the doorway, and he noticed something not right "these ruins along with the cave in seem more recent, very recent in fact" he investigated the door and he noticed something above it. "These symbols, I think I might be able to translate" he looked long and hard at them and began to translate.

"The pr, pr, priests, the priests. O, o, of, the priests of, sss,sssil, silver, ssshhh, ores, the priests of silver shores. The g, grr, guardians, of, of sand, and stone. The, the, Ashla? No-wait Jedi! The Jedi of, the, the force. Wait Jedi of the force? Little on the nose ain't it. Sh, shall, return to, their hold. An, and the, bells? Will, ring in, as a, new, hope, returns but, all the joys, will turn, silent. And the, galaxy, will drown and. Okay. The priests of silver shores, the guardians of sand and stone. The Jedi of the force shall return to their hold. And the bells will ring as a new hope returns but all the joys will turn silent and the galaxy will drown and burn"

The door swung open in front of him, "that's odd, I thought it always took two" he queried as he went into the room. In front of him was a grand courtyard flooded with a shallow silvery ocean. Old statues were islands separated by the sea. He casually wandered down the steps to the shore line and sat on the bottom steps, Eran looked out onto the chrome sea and wandered what was the importance of this room. He sat and thought for a while about the planet's history, but then he noticed something in the water. There was movement. He went forward to investigate and saw that the commotion was air bubbles. Someone was lying in the water and that someone was alive. He waded in and quickly grabbed the person out of the water. As he did so the person gasped for air, he dragged them out with as much strength as he could and placed them on the shoreline. He looked at them more closely, it was a female Togruta, she opened her mouth in shock and went into a terrified fit "hey hey!" Eran grabbed her and shook her to normality "get it together" she looked about confusingly, then back to him "Anakin" she responded "no, i'm Eran" he answered back in confusion who's Anakin? "No, Anakin, he had me! He was going to kill me!" Eran had no idea what this girl was saying. But before he could ask her anything else she passed out from exhaustion in his arms. "Hey, hey! c'mon" and with that she was gone. He was once again alone in the most confusing planet in the galaxy.


	5. the writings on the wall

She was asleep. She was calm, peaceful and asleep. No dreams, no nightmares, no premonitions, no distractions. For the first time in a long while Ahsoka was happily at peace. Until she was electrocuted awake.

"Ow!" She screamed awake to find herself lying on damp ash and overshadowed by a complete stranger "ah, I see they still work" he remarked as he walked off. Ahsoka could easily take this guy on but apart from the previous electrocution (which was annoying) this man posed no real threat to her, even without her lightsabers. "What do you mean "they still work" she says bluntly whilst lying down. She had enough of the endless mind games this planet presented, she didn't know if this was another illusion like the ones before. "Electro-gauntlets" he says raising his right hand to show her. Ahsoka noticed the pulsating red light from his marking and pondered what it meant, but her thought process was short lived as this man continued to talk "I thought they short circuited back on the surface, but as you can see they now again"

She was astonished at his casual small talk and his relaxed demeanor. They were both on what is perhaps one of the most deadly planets in the galaxy and he's there making small talk. "Who are you?" she asks the most important question "oh now she asks! I was wondering when you would", he perches himself on a boulder and places an electric heater between them "I'm Eranus Shan, but you can call me Eran if you like, and you?" he reached out his arms to get some heat from the fire, Ahsoka sat up and slid herself to it "i'm Ah-, Fulcrum" she didn't know who he is, is he an imperial spy? an inquisitor? an apparition? "Nice to meet you Fulcrum" he said without any suspicion in his voice. "Nice to meet you Eran"

"So do you want to tell me what you were doing in that lake" the man asks looking out into the courtyard "do you want to tell me what you're doing here" she was quick to respond. Ahsoka felt the tension between them, but Eran didn't show any serious emotions "fair enough" he walks up the stairs and to a large doorway, Ahsoka got up and hesitantly followed him. He looks up above the doorway and ponders to Ahsoka a question "tell me Fulcrum of Shili, for which I assume you're from, what do you make of that?" Eran points to a series of markings above the doorway, Ahsoka was annoyed but when her attention went towards the markings she resided to the calm and serious Ahsoka "some ancient form of Aurebesh? Mixed with a sith dialect, and some of these words i've never seen before" she looked back at him. Their suspicious friendship now had turned professional "I know, odd isn't it. But what do you notice about the markings" She looks back at them, she couldn't translate and was about to give up until she noticed something not quite right. "The writings not carved into the wall" she glances at Eran and sees him nod in agreement, she turns back to explain herself "all other writings are scorched like everything else, but these letters appear to be scratched into it, which must mean-" Eran decided to complete her sentence "-that they were made after the incident that occurred here all those years ago"

Ahsoka was beginning to wonder what the importance of these markings are to the planet's mystery and more importantly why this man was so interested in them "what do they say?" she asked, not knowing if he actually knew "it inscribes: the priests of silver shores, the guardians of sand and stone, the Jedi of the force, shall return to their hold, and the bells will ring as a new hope returns, but all the joys will turn silent and the galaxy will drown and burn" Ahsoka had not heard this before yet she sensed that it meant something very important, that the words felt familiar, not familiar as in a memory, but as in a feeling. "So it's a light hearted poem" Eran smirked as he finished reading "what do you think it means?"

Ahsoka was lost. She had no clue how long she had been on this planet, all she wanted was to get out, but with every moment she stays here the more mysteries develop "well" she said returning to the heater to rest, soon followed by Eran "obviously it's a form of warning or prophecy". Eran sat opposite her with a condescending look, clearly he was thinking of something sarcastic like no! Really! But she took no notice and continued "Jedi of the force, well that's obvious. Uhh guardians of sand and stone, well that could mean something else" Eran was getting bored and decided to cut her off "you're missing the really important bit!" Ahsoka stopped and resided it in her head, there was nothing that stood out, she heard doomsday prophesies before so another one was nothing special "I don't see it"

"What's the first line?" he asked her with a more serious tone. She still knew nothing about him but underneath the sarcastic loner there seemed to be something, friendly about him, so she played along "the priests of silver shores" she stopped, Eran then was beginning to make gestures for her to continue, "I don't understand what's important about that line" he then just jutted his head towards the right, indicating the room. She looked out into the courtyard, and that's when it hit her; the overflowing fountain in the centre, the fact that she was found in the water, its sweet flavour and its foul aftertaste, the fact that they were both camping on what looked like a beach. It's colour. "Oh my" was all she could say "Fulcrum, welcome to the silver shores"...


	6. Revelations

"But I don't understand I have never heard the Sith being referred to as Priests of Silver shores" she yelled as a form of ignorance. Ahsoka did not move, she stood her ground on the beach, she was tired of running, she wanted to know the truth but at the same time dreaded to imagine it "who said those graffiti were referring to the Sith" Eran said perched on the ground, his demeanor was the exact opposite, he had no intention of leaving, nor was he going to. "Of course it's referring to the Sith, this is a Sith temple!" she was shouting over him, this man was annoying her more than ever, he just didn't seem to understand the situation they were in "yeah but you missed the key word there, graffiti. Those words could've been scratched in the wall by anyone" Ahsoka looked out over the ocean and gave in and sat down beside Eran. She was so exhausted and there was no sign of her ordeal ending. "So if it's not the sith then why is the silver shores in a sith temple, and who are these priests" she looked up to him on his rock, he was just staring blankly with no sign of response "you don't know do you?" He embarrassingly looked at her, he knew he had to say something "I have a theory"

He stands up to walk away from her, he takes a few steps before stopping. He was just a perfectionist. "Can you answer me something" Ahsoka stood behind him, her question was soft and genuine, not a demand but a request "why are you here?". Eran turned to face her, the look on his face was for once sad and slightly frightened, he was about to say something before something triggered in his head. He looked left up the stairs to the writings and then he ran as fast as he could to them. Ahsoka followed briefly but stood on the bottom two stairs looking up to him. "You said Jedi of the force is a given, well that's obvious so we know that the previous two lines mean another force wielding order, now the Sith were never called Priests of Silver shores and that's true but the other line was guardians of sand and stone. Now that could be a reference to-" this time Ahsoka finished Eran's sentence "Korriban!" Eran's face lit up "exactly! And we all know how protective Sith are over their tombs" Ahsoka slowly walked up, her assent matched her knowledge slowly increasing "so that means the Priests of silver shores is some kind of other faction-" Eran stood proud at the top as if about to give a lecture, like before he completes Ahsoka's train of thought "which one? Because you're right, there are far more religions than just Jedi and Sith; Bendu, the Voss, Nightsisters, Church of the Force, the question is what denomination are these Priests?"

"ALL OF THEM" A deep, crippling voice boomed out from the silver ocean. They both reacted quickly to this response, Eran raised his rifle and Ahsoka, well Ahsoka still lacked her white sabers but she still defended herself with her fists "and who would say that?" Eran spoke whilst approaching the edge of the beach, closely accompanied by Ahsoka.

A sudden draft entered the room, our hero's breath became visible and the water froze in an instant. The heater gave out and they were alone with a presence. A presence all too familiar. Out of the darkness across the lake came a shadowy figure, its cloak overhanging its face only its mouth was visible and its rags draped over the ice. Its feet were bare, its skin was pale grey, its hands were skeletal and decrepit. It strode towards them. Ahsoka knew this, this thing. It was the one responsible for the Inquisitors' death and it was the one responsible for putting her in that dream.

"Who are you?" Ahsoka had asked this before only for it to give her some philosophical statement. She hoped this time it would give her a less nebulas answer "we are each a nation, each its own legion, you know my name" Erans face lit up, he too knew this voice "you're the one who told me to leave the planet back on the surface. To be honest I'm glad because i thought it was just another split in my personality" he laughed under his breath but soon received his composure. "I gave you a warning, Eranus. But your intrigue took control of you and now you must suffer the consequences" its voice was broken. It was layered, almost like several people from all directions were speaking in unison. Eran turned silent how does it know my full name, what else does it know? These thoughts were orbiting his head. Ahsoka however was still fueled by her anger towards this presence "why tell him to leave? Are you worried he might interfere with our business? I refuse to play your games. I want to leave this planet and never come back"

It stood a few meters away from them, it stood still like a statue, no gestures, no movement, but its voice was strong and harsh. Its voice had control "there is a way out, there has always been a way out. But in order to leave our business must be completed" it slowly raised its arm above the ice. It sparked to life and beneath it the ice cracked apart and a portal opened between them. "If you do not co-operate then this planet will become your grave"

Ahsoka turned to Eran, "I'm sorry Fulcrum, but my ship is damaged beyond repair, I'm afraid I'm stranded just like you". She knew it was a trap but even if there was a one percent chance that there was a way off Malachor she would take it. "See you on the other side" her last words to her mysterious friend and before he could respond she dived into the portal. It closed immediately after she disappeared, Eran looked at the creature and the creature looked at Eran "when I died my name was Traya. Before that, Kreia" Eran face turned stunned "you know my name, then fear me, fear my resolve, fear the writing, fear the priests" with that it was gone.


	7. The Scourge of Malachor

She resurfaced from the lake, all was normal. Nothing was different. It was just like when she dived in. but she knew this was only an illusion, it turns out she had never been alone on the planet. Eran was nowhere to be found, she seemed alone, but she wasn't. She surveyed the scene; nothing. She walked up the stairs to the courtyard entrance; the writing was still there but no other features. She continued to walk through the darkened halls till eventually everything was black. There was no-way she could traverse the scene like this. But suddenly a bright light illuminated her surroundings, she was in the holocron chamber. At its centre was the device that Ezra nearly activated, the shrine that Maul was so desperate to find. She took a few steps before she felt that the ground was uneasy, she glanced down to see her white lightsabers placed at her feet "it's about time" she thought aloud, she equipped her weapons to her belt and continued towards the centre of the room.

"Glorious, isn't it" that all too familiar voice echoed behind her, the one perhaps responsible for all this bloodshed, why was it so interested in her? "It's a bit old" she quipped back to it, "it's incomplete" it replied. Ahsoka cracked a smile because she knew this presence was after the Holocron, and it was safely out of the hands of vader, maul and this new secretive threat. "Come on then, just us here, why don't you answer some questions I have" Ahsoka was going to negotiate with it? It was hopeless, she asked it twice before and both times it's responses were useless. But whatever happened to Malachor this presence knew what is was, she had to know the truth.

"My name is Traya, I was once like you Ahsoka, devoid of hope, stripped of my power, exiled. Now I walk the vast corridors of this planet, my connection to the academy was stronger than death, hence even millennia after my demise I still linger here, clinging to existence" it wasn't an answer to everything, but it was a start. "So you've come to aid me" she assumes "to offer a proposition" this was the catch Ahsoka predicted was coming "I have strived to show you the error of your ways Jedi, your order is dead, like the charred bodies that scatter across the Temple your ideologies are long forgotten" Ahsoka would not stand for this, Traya did not prove anything, she put Ahsoka into a nightmare in which her friends were dead and her master a villain. Sad thing is though, that nightmare was nothing more than a memory, the real experience was far more terrifying. "What do you mean, forgotten?"

Traya lifted her hand to reveal images of order 66, the purge that Palpatine initiated was happening around them. Clones turning against their generals, friends becoming enemies. "In an instant the Jedi were destroyed, a thousand generations of history and knowledge reduced to nothingness. Your once great temple turned to ruin. Your children screamed as they were cut down one by one. Tell me Ahsoka, how does that make you feel?"

Ahsoka looked on as all the people she knew were being killed in front of her, she couldn't stand the pain she felt knowing that she survived, but no-one else had. Kanan was a new companion, not a friend from long ago, he had experienced all this at such a young age. They may have both been Jedi but he was a Rebel, Ahsoka was always uncertain on her place "I feel, pain. Pain for those that had died on that day, but more so for the ones that survived, the ones that had to suffer" the images faded away and the chamber returned to its original state.

"had you ever considered that all this is your fault"

"What do you mean?"

"Your presence creates conflict. Imagine; how many wars were fought with Lightsabers, how many Jedi waged war on the front lines. The Mandalorian and Hyperspace wars, the Sith brotherhood, the clone wars! Every major galactic conflict in history, what one factor appears in all of them? The Jedi" The sad truth was what Traya was saying held some validity, the Jedi always called themselves keepers of the peace but history told a different story. But she couldn't let this creature get into her head, it wants her to have doubt "we fight for peace and justice, the Sith fight for themselves" This was what she was told time and time again, that the reason the Jedi fought was to preserve peace, not to destroy it "you call it peace and justice, but for whom? Yourselves?" Ahsoka did not appreciate these subtle insults and so was quick to respond "for everyone!" Traya began to circle the jedi, like a carrion bird honing in on its prey "as long as they do not follow the dark side or even consider it's concept". Ahsoka had enough, she didn't care about lectures when she was a Padawan, she certainly didn't care now "I've played your games, creature. Now show me the way off this planet"

Traya grabbed a patch of her her cloak and threw it up into the air, it turned the ceiling black and as if it was ink, thick rain began to fall onto her. With every drop the room changed from the Sith sanctuary that was the Holocron Chamber to a rich and vibrant ecosystem. She was surrounded by a dense forest, teeming with life. For once she could hear birds singing in the canopy, the amazing song of life surrounding her. She felt a moment of bliss before the realisation that this too might just be a dream. She is probably still on Malachor, trapped in an endless maze of corridors, where with each next turn a new mystery presented itself.

Suddenly, without warning a massive explosion silenced the bird song. The explosion was far away but its sound still caused damage at this distance. Above her she could see through the tress that the sky was going dark, a huge armada of starships blocked out the sun. around her squadrons of republic forces charged into battle, with Jedi warriors wielding cross guarded sabers as their generals. Machinery cut down the many trees to make way for massive weaponry; tanks and anti-aircraft guns were being dotted across the now declining forest. And from afar racing across in their jetpacks to intercept Mandalorians attacked the republic forces. The once great Armada above was now in an intense space battle, ships and debris came falling down on the battle below. Within minutes the peaceful forest became a horrific battlefield with both sides desperately holding ground.

Ahsoka hated the sound of silence back in the temple, but now she longed for it. She heard the screams and suffering of all these soldiers around her. She had fought in wars before but nothing on this scale. She wanted to get out. She wanted to leave. The cries and screams were proving to much for her, she put her hands over her ears to try and cut out the bloodshed and at the top of her lungs she screamed.

Her eyes opened to a different setting. She was now on a republic cruiser; the bridge it seemed. In front of her stood a shadowy figure, facing outwards onto the planet below. She assumed she knew what planet it was, the very same one she had just experienced on the surface. She could see flashes of red and orange, clearly mass explosions that could be seen from this altitude. The figure turned his back to it, Ahsoka could see he was wearing a Mandalorian mask over his face but his hood and bronze robes suggested he was a force user. Not to mention the two lightsaber hilts attached to his belt. He walked up the bridge's walkway to its exit, he took one look at one of the officers and without saying anything the officer knew what he wanted. With a few buttons pressed at the console there was a tremendous flash of light, it was blinding to her. She realised that the light came from the planet, the entire surface was lit ablaze, all of it was on fire, like a star but far more tragic. All those lives on the surface, all of them extinguished in an instant. The Jedi with the Mandalorian mask didn't flinch at all, his back to the horrific sight, he didn't even acknowledge it, he just simply walked of the bridge as though nothing had happened.

Ahsoka stood there, looking onto the planet, it still shining orange. A great emptiness entered her heart, she barely had the strength to stand, from this great disturbance in the force a great nexus was created. The Force is made by living things, death on such a scale as this was damaging the soul, every jedi in every quadrant must of felt these ripples, and she was at the epicenter. "The planet shook for weeks, the fires burned for years and by the time the dust had settled not even microscopic bacteria survived on the surface" it was Traya, she sent her here to witness that ordeal "what happened here?" she depressingly spoke trying to remain standing "it is called the Scourge of Malachor: the final battle of the Mandalorian wars" Ahsoka somehow knew that the planet she was looking at was Malachor, that feeling of emptiness was with her ever since she stepped onto the surface with Kanan and Ezra. "who could have done something like this?" she spoke, fearing to know the answer. The hooded woman approached her and only said two words "the Jedi"...


	8. Remnants of War

Waiting always seems like an easy task, but the more you wait, the more difficult it is. You're just sitting there, expecting something to happen, when it doesn't come the more frustrated and curious you get, hence it's much harder to just sit there. That's what he was doing, waiting. Sat on this new found beach expecting any moment that Fulcrum would return with a new ship or a means of leaving the planet. But time dragged on, and Eran was never a patient man. Yet there he was; sitting, waiting, twiddling his thumbs. And of course getting seriously bored.

He reached for his belt and retrieved a rations bar (because if there was anything he would do now it would be a picnic) and bit into it. _waiting, still waiting_ was going through his head, he just put faith in Fulcrum to get him off the planet. What evidence does he have that she won't just leave without him. _waiting, STILL waiting._ Trouble was however that he wasn't sure if he wanted to leave just yet, there were too many questions yet to be solved; Who wrote that piece of writing? What does it mean? Who is Traya? Why is she interested in Fulcrum? Why is Fulcrum here? Unfortunately as he was organising the various mysteries in his head the most unexpected thing happened. He was looking out into the vastness when he heard chirping. The sound was coming from right next to him, and there at his feet, picking away at the crumbs of his rations bar was a Convor. It looked up at him with its rather friendly eyes and made another call. Here in the graveyard of the galaxy there was life. "Hello little fella, what are you doing here" as expected there was no answer from the creature "well I guess that's another mystery" he tried to keep his voice casual, he wasn't sure if this was a mind trick or if someone was listening, but Eran was bored so since there was nothing else to do he decided to split his bar and give half to the Convor.

It didn't take long for the little bird to eat its half, it flew up to Eran's lap directing its beak at some other food he had, the man noticed this and quickly put the food out of the Convors reach. But the bird continued to pester him, poking his arm as though it was seeking attention. The more pokes it made the more frustrated Eran got, "WHAT!" he angrily turned to the creature, as before it did not answer back but instead flew to the step at the doorway. Eran turned back to his thoughts but almost immediately when he looked away the Convor began calling him again. With an exhausted sigh Eran stood up and approached the bird, when he got close the Convor flew out the courtyard to another rock outside the temple. It wanted Eran to follow.

The cycle of the Convor flying to a point and Eran following continued a few more times (much to his dismay) until the two had reached outside the temple into the charred battlefield. Once again Eran was terraining over skelatons and burnt carcases of fallen Jedi, Sith and Mandolorians. He was never an empathetic man, he was always more focused on the thrill of the chase rather than fixating on the fact there are dead men, women and aliens beneath his feet. To Eran, Caring about a corpse won't bring it back to life, so why bother? Maybe it's disrespectful but then that's how he was brought up, the people who tutored him were without sympathy, they sought control, order and the means not to care for the galaxies woes. He grew up not to care. His attention was on the ash filled skeletal forms but mainly because he didn't want to trip, eventually he reached the Convor perched on a collapsed Sith obelisk, unlike before the bird did not fly to another location, it just stood there. This was their final destination.

"Well?" he began to think that following this animal might of been a waste of time since there was nothing important here, at first glance. The Convor pointed its head down, directing Erans sight to a burnt corpse at the foot of the obelisk, Eran knelt to it then just to be sure looked back at the bird, its unresponsive nature confirmed that this was body was important. He inspected it; nothing struck out, the armour burnt to a crisp, the face disfigured and warped, he wasn't even sure what species it was. All that he could tell was that when this person died, they died in terror. The face was deformed but fear was in its eyes. This almost startled Eran but something else caught his attention, in its hand was a device resembling a holo-recorder, similar to his but of a more ancient design. To get at it he had to brake of the hand from the arm and like dust he swept away the ash. He held up the device to the Convor, it chirped once as though it was saying "you found it". Eran opened up the device to find it was terribly damaged but since he was going no-where he might as well see if he could fix it.

Hours seemed to pass and Fulcrum still had not returned. Hope was thin that she might return for him, but he was too busy fixing the holo-recorder to notice his current predicament. With a few added wires and altered motors the holo-recorder flickered to life. He pressed the button to see what memory was stored in there.

With it activated an image began to emerge in front of him. "Attention soldiers, this is master Fae" the image resembled that of a Jedi, the armour he was wearing was a mixture of Republic Commando and actual Jedi robes. The clothing was neat and clean, this particular Jedi obviously was proud of his position as told in the way he presented himself. "The Revanchist command has found a weakness to the Mandalorian defenses, a weakness we need to exploit if we're going to win this war" Eran would usually say some form of quip to lessen the seriousness of the situation but this time he just stood watching intently. "We all know the Mandalorians favour travel by jetpack so instead of meeting the enemy in the sky we are going to attack from below ground" _Jedi providing war tactics? Not exactly the keepers of the peace everyone assumes they are_ Eran was too busy thinking he almost missed the next piece of information "A network of tunnels go beneath the Surface of Malachor, we can send our troops through these tunnels and meet the enemy from behind the blockades. Now we haven't fully mapped out this underground network so we'll have to send reconnaissance sentinels first, I will lead the mission. Master Fae out" with that the message returned to white noise.

Eran said nothing, he took a glance at his newfound chirping companion then back at the white noise for a second transmission was coming through; "This is Padawan Ria Farnn requesting immediate audience with Revanchist high command! The Sith are here, I repeat, the Sith are on Malachor! Master Fae is dead, dammit we're all dead! This is bigger than the Mandalorians, this is bigger than anything! You have to contact the Jedi council, you have to destroy this temple before its too-" the transmission cut out before it could finish. The girl was young, too young. She was no doubt one of the many dead Jedi beyond the temple walls. Eran was saddened by what he saw, this Traya character was no doubt a member of this Sith temple however his remorse was short lived as there was one final message coming through the recorder.

"I'm… I'm not gonna make it" this boy resembled another Jedi, a braid symbolising that he too was a Padawan, he was holding his stomach in, the faint orange outline proved that he was suffering from a lightsaber wound "we're lucky to survive… the Mass Shadow Generator… killed everyone on the surface but few of us survived, here in the tunnel network… we haven't heard from the fleet, guess they've abandoned us…we are all that's left to fight against the Sith, we may be injured but we have to face this threat… May, the force… be with us" the holo recorder stopped and the light slowly vanished.

The Convor looked at Eran and Eran looked at the Convor. There was something similar about those three recordings. They were all equipped with cross-guard sabers. Eran knew what the bird was thinking. He hesitantly reached for his own lightsaber then pressed a button that extended to smaller hilts along the main hilt. "I haven't done this in a long time" he said to the creature observing him. He activated the saber but smaller lights extended from the smaller hilts revealing the true weapon he was carrying. A yellow cross guarded lightsaber.


	9. A much needed Reunion

The Burning planet's shine began to alter from fiery orange to cursed crimson, in a swift transition the bridge of the republic cruiser faded back to Ahsoka's true location, the holocron chamber. The floor illuminated her surroundings, beams of energy pulsating through the caverns, the entire room was one massive machine, powering some hellish Sith monstrosity. The patterns laid out on the floor spelt out ancient rituals, the language was filled with hatred and greed, they lead her eyes to the centre of the room which levitating was a rock like structure, carved to precision, it held the resemblance of a giant cyber crystal but it was cloaked in Sith markings and symbols. There was an opening within it, clearly it was where you were meant to place the Holocron, now in the possession of Ezra. But even after the explosion, after that great confrontation with Vader the place was immaculate; no signs of cave ins or collapses, this fact made Ahsoka question the validity of her surroundings, it could be yet another vision provided by Traya.

"I don't believe you, I can't" she was referring to Traya's claim that it is the Jedi who are the ones responsible for Malachors state. "Then search your feelings, grey one. You know it to be true" Trayas presence entered the chamber, on the opposite end of the chamber rose the shadowy figure, Ahsoka could just about see Traya because between them was the Sith device, obscuring their view of each other. "What is this place, a temple yes?" Traya was quick to respond "A temple, a weapon, an academy and a prison. When I ruled this place it was called the Trayus Academy, my title was named after it. It was meant to be a place of learning, where we could see past the lies your republic propagates, You child are standing in its brain. This is where all that knowledge is cultivated and stored. This device here is the amplifier"

"What does any of this got to do what I just saw?"

"Everything!" Traya began to circle the structure towards Ahsoka, the frail voice becoming strong and demanding "there are places in the galaxy where the Force is kept safe and secure, the Jedi uses these locations as places of learning, a safe environment in which you may show Padawans the temptations of the dark side, in hopes of them understanding the truth" Ahsoka knew of one such place Traya was speaking of the temple at Lothal her thoughts however turned back to the present "so that silvery ocean is one of these Force locations" Trayas voice turned honest and calm once more "Malachor was a unique planet, it was strong in the Force but unlike Korriban or Tython the force was in complete balance, a factor which cannot be said for other worlds. The Argent water as it was once called, held hallucinogenic properties, we used it to teach our students, to reveal their inner emotions." Ahsoka turned her thoughts back to when she first found the chamber, without hesitation she herself drank the water "that explains my visions" Traya slightly nodded her head to agree with Ahsoka's statements "so you drugged your students, make them see their deepest and darkest secrets, then used this, this thing to store that knowledge. And the Scourge of Malachor?"

"In a last bid at desperation the Mandalorians fled to Malachor to regroup after several defeats against the Republic, little did they know that they were being pursued by the Republic Navy and the Revanchist order, they confronted each other on this planet, the battle was crucial for both sides, both could not afford to lose" Ahsoka began to understand what situation she was in despite a few final mysteries yet to be answered. But she understood enough to finish Trayas story, "until the Republic learnt that it wasn't just the Mandalorians that were on Malachor, they found this place didn't they, the Sith order clinging on to existence" Traya smirked slightly, one of those evil grins one does when a plan falls into place, Traya continued the story "As all children do, they panic, they lash out in terror. The Jedi were paralyzed at the thought of another Sith War, the Republic also. So guess what they did next?" Ahsoka looked at her surroundings, she could feel the emptiness this planet radiated, it reeked of Darkness, so much to the point that she was physically weakened. "What did they do Ahsoka Tano?" Ahsoka knew what was coming but she didn't have the strength to say it "There was a prototype weapon the Republic made, named the Mass Shadow Generator, its purpose was to tap into the Midichlorians of a living being and extinguish them, reducing the victim to nothing more but ash and dust, at last a use to those pathetic microscopic organisms" Ahsoka had no evidence that Traya was lying, she merely had to look around her to see the devastation caused by something, and Trayas story was so impossible that it had to be true. "They used the weapon to kill everything on the planet; Jedi, Mandalorian, Republic, Sith"

"Like I said before, I don't believe you"

"Live in ignorance if you wish, it matters not. I have delivered the truth, the one and only truth of the galaxy, a truth that very few have accepted and the ones that did have risen above these galactic quarrels, they have earned their freedom, their chains were broken never again to be re-forged" The light of the chamber shut immediately off bar one spotlight shining down on Ahsoka, she couldn't see Traya, she couldn't see anything. But there was a distant voice which fearfully caught her attention. "Ahsoka? Ahsoka!" the voice was unmistakable, "Anakin?!"

This time she wasn't silent, she was ready, she new the situation she was in, this time she could face him. "Do you know what that means Ahsoka?" Anakin stood before her, looking down on his student his features were just the same as when they parted, all except the eyes which contained a microscopic hint of red, Ahsoka would not waste this meeting with Anakin, she knew he was just a figment of her imagination but she didn't care, she wanted desperately to talk to him. "I hear what she's saying, but I can't accept it" Her former master began circling her, his voice calm and authoritative "It means that the galaxy is not as black and white as the jedi would have you believe. The Sith are not all Evil and the Jedi is not all good, as long as we live in denial there will never be peace"

"You were meant to change that sky-guy, you were meant to bring balance to the force and save the galaxy, I was there on Mortis, I saw what you could do, what you could of become. But the machine I faced here in this very room was not the man I once followed into battle, that man died along with the Republic"

Anakin did not flinch one bit during Ahsoka's statement, almost as if he knew exactly what she would have said, but by the time she finished his patience ran out "shut up snips and wake up!" with that a huge bang erupted in Ahsoka's head, her throat seized up and her vision became blurry. She staggered away from Anakin but he just followed slowly and patiently. "The Galaxy is a mess, it was always pathetic, only look around you to know my words are true, over a thousand years between us and the Scourge of Malachor and society remains just as weak as back then. The Jedi and Sith are choking the life out of the cosmos, the only way for balance is to start over, to wipe away the weak philosophies and the bureaucracy so we as an Empire may ascend into greatness." Ahsoka stood her ground despite her disadvantage, she grabbed her lightsaber and held it to Anakin to keep him away "so because we are meant to have a leader, who better than the Empire? Don't make me laugh" Anakin stood close to her, the white light of the saber shone upon his face, "what do you want Ahsoka? Not me dead nor for the Rebellion to win, I know you, you're better than that, what is it all for?"

Ahsoka took deep breaths to regain her composure before finally opening up to him "I don't care about this light and dark argument, I thought I wanted off this rock but ever since I learnt what this machine does I have to know, is there a way to save you? Can it be done?" She stood up to him and put her lightsaber away, Anakin smirked and only said one word…

"Yes"

That word filled Ahsoka with such joy and optimism, that the reason she was lead here was not to destroy the Sith Lord but to redeem him. All she needed now was the method to accomplishing it. "How?"

Within the blink of an eye Anakin morphed into the shriveled look of Traya before saying the one thing Ahsoka was dreading "bow down to me"...


	10. The truth is out

The Convor jumped a hundred yards at the sight of Erans' cross guard saber as if it knew exactly what it was and what it meant, Eran took this reaction to heart even though it was just a birds' reaction, he turned the yellow blade off and placed it under his coat. He looked intently at the creature and in return the creature looked intently at him, both were expecting something to happen, Eran decided to make the first move "why are you here?" the bird tilted its head before turning its gaze to Erans' distinct tattoo on his arm, Eran traced its gaze to the mark, he saw it still shimmering red, the crimson hand print with at its centre an inverted cross. _Damn_ he thought when he faced the creature again, but the Convor had already flown off; he saw it racing away "hey come back!" he ran after it, which was a lot more difficult than he anticipated, boulders and bodies littering the floor, and it was terribly dark, he very nearly tripped on more than a few occasions however he kept following the bird.

After a few twists and turns the Convor led him to a damp dripping cave, unlike the rest of the catacombs there were no sith markings or structures and yet even though this place was further underground than the temple the place was clearly lit. Eran felt a few drops land on his head, it was at that moment he realised the light was from the moisture, it was the silver water.

The Convor landed on a boulder at the end of the cave, there was little else of value or recognition in the cavern just dust and rock. "Well?" Eran said recovering his breath from his unexpected sprint. Suddenly the ground started to shake and the walls began to move, the far wall changed shape and formed the likeness, of a face…

The image before Eran had white piercing eyes with a large flat nose, a long flowing beard and stretching above its eyes looked almost similar to antlers. Whatever it was it was huge and not human, or any species Eran had seen in his life. The Convor remained stationary on its boulder, not flinching or reacting to the rooms' transformation, before Eran could contemplate what happened before him the face spoke out in a loud, deep and booming voice. "You are not Bogan"

Eran suddenly realised that the face was talking to him, naturally he made light of the situation "No I'm Eran, who are you?" laid back conversation was his way of coping with stress. The face however did answer him "In your tongue I am Bendu, neither light nor dark" Eran was still processing what kind of day he had so his reaction was underwhelming "oh, well obviously. Bendu; I was going to say that actually-"

"-denial is pointless Eranus Shan, there are no lies with me, only ignorance" Eran stopped his prattling and went to the heart of the matter "so why are _you_ here Bendu" he slowly stepped towards its face, "I am not here, not really. I am residing on a planet far away from here, but that does not mean we cannot comune, come let us discuss" Eran stood his ground before the titan and ready to ask his questions, but the Bendu had questions of its own and spoke first "I did not expect your kind to still be here" Eran responded with a one word question "still?" the face adjusted slightly and with it the cave shook as if it were about to collapse, an arm reached out from the wall pointing to his arm "that mark, it may only be a mark to those who are ignorant but to those who see with open eyes it is a brand, a symbol that shows you yourself are neither Sith nor Jedi, you walk the grey path" There was no point hiding any longer so Eran became much more open to Bendu "I try to" he smirks, to Eran, the force is too complicated to understand, better to pretend it's not there "I'm sure you're aware of how difficult it is" the face gave a slight nod in agreement "the light and dark both pull on you, tempting you to be engulfed by them, either use your emotions as fuel or purge them as weakness. There are methods of keeping the balance however that would depend on what you believe in. what do you believe in, Eranus Shan?"

"Sorry?"

"No mere person explores Malachor without a purpose, you're here in search of something, and i can tell you have already found it"

"Watch it Bendu"

"The way you avoid your mark, the small cross guarded saber you hide, your demeanor suggests that you are running away from something, and that has led you here, I know your kind; Priest of Silver Shore"

 _Damn_ Eran thought for a second time, only this was a mournful, regretful damn. He had been found out, but his ordeal was just beginning "I have to admit I did not expect your kind to return to this place, tell me do you still go by that name" For some reason the Bendu and Eran had seemingly switched personas, Bendu was now humorous and Eran was firm. But in its deep humour Eran noticed something not right "what were you _expecting?"_ the Bendu's eyes became enlarged and a slightly shocked expression appeared on its face "you make it seem as though you wanted someone to be here" that shocked expression changed to a more angered one "why did you come?" it responded to divert the acusations, Eran remained silent as a form of defiance but as the seconds rolled on he knew he had to answer

"I had a dream, a premonition. I don't usually get those- well everyone dreams but this one felt real"

"What did you see?"

"A war, a terrible war, even now I remember the screams I heard in my sleep, it was deafening, like a thousand voices crying out in terror-"

"- and were suddenly silenced"

Eran did not question how Bendu knew what he was going to say, the memory of his vision was too strong. Instead he simply nodded in agreement "and at the end of it all, when all seemed quiet, I heard a whisper, find Malachor. I didn't know what it meant but I just couldn't ignore it, so I stole a ship from Nar Shaddaa and headed for the outer rim. I didn't know where I was going or how long it would take me but when I ventured into this temple and saw those weapons and bodies I heard their screams again, and I knew this was the place"

The Bendu grinned at the end of his story, not a happy grin but a smile of irony. "You are not the only one that has been drawn to this place. That is how Malachor works, the sith temple acts as a beacon of knowledge, it sends echoes out into the cosmos drawing force users across the galaxy, you were merely late to arrive. We all heard that message; the empire, Rebels, you, your Fulcrum ally and I were all drawn here and were meant to all converge at the same point at the same time"

"Your saying it is a trap"

"OF COURSE IT'S A TRAP!"

The ground and air shook around them, one more scream and the cave would collapse trapping Eran in the cavern "you may claim to no longer be one of them but the priests used the temple as a library, learning ancient Bogan rituals, using the silver water as a hallucinogen, if one were to drink from the pool then you will experience visions much like the one you experienced, only this on a lethal level. Visions that kill" Eran began to notice that Fulcrum was still out there with Traya and she may herself had drunk from the water "you are afraid, that entity, that Traya, she plans to use you as a means of escape, the weapon may be disarmed but the archive is still functional and there are secrets in this place that can never be known and once a secret is known it cannot be unknown. This temple is where your cult began, go on, run back home" Eran turned and headed to the entrance of the cave before suddenly stopping. Eran may seem idiotic but he can make connections when suspicion is in the air.

"You did it" he turned back to face Bendu...

"you wrote that writing on the wall"

"Choose your next words with care, child"

"That poem, the one about the priests, the guardians of stone, the jedi of the force? Ring any bells"

The Face remained silent and Eran would not take this as a sign to stop

"You wrote that mark to warn us, warn us of what though? Oh, not warn us, to warn them"

It was at that moment that all seemed clear, what brought him and Fulcrum here. All was made clear…

 _The priests of silver shores_

 _The guardians of sand and stone_

 _The Jedi of the force_

 _Shall return to their hold_

 _And the bells will ring as a new hope returns_

 _But all the joys will turn silent_

 _And the galaxy will drown and burn_

"The priests; I was going to be one of them, born into the order, branded with this mark, it glows red when the dark side is near. They even gave me this crossguard lightsaber when I was a kid, but I ran. I couldn't live with what they were doing, manipulating the galaxy from the shadows, slowly planning the demise of both Jedi and Sith. To avoid detection we often changed our name; Priests of Silver Shores, Disciples of the Forge, Revanites, Knights of Ren. But I guess all that subterfuge didn't go completely unnoticed, You found out what they were planning. You saw the Empire's End and what they wanted for the galaxy, to stop the future you staged a trap, you used the temple's beacon to send a message, 'find Malachor' that was it wasn't it. Who did you send it to? The Emperor, Yoda, both I imagine; and in turn they sent their allies here, to where it all began! Our birthplace, they would find the prophecy you wrote, receive the warning then capture me who 'unfortunately crashed' and interrogate me in hopes of finding the others. You planned all this in hopes of finding peace-"

"PEACE IS A LIE!" Cracks formed all around them, pieces of rock and ash fell upon Eran stopping his speech. The Bendus eyes turned yellow and the sound of Thunder and Lightning echoed his booming voice. The Convor was gone and the cave was collapsing, Eran said one last thing before sprinting to the exit "I was right, it is difficult to walk the gray path, even for you" And with one last smirk he raised his rifle and blasted at the face as it roared at him.

He ran as fast as he could through the weaving catacombs, more and more boulders were falling around him, he turned briefly to look where he came to check if he was being followed, there was no sign of a pursuer but that did not mean he slowed down. Unfortunately in the panic he tripped over something whilst turned away, he was laying on the ground wheezing from the dust around him, speckles of rock were falling upon his face as he was righting himself, this made it difficult to see in the dark. He reached for his saber for defense but when he did he heard a hissing sound, he then carefully clutched the weapon and took in a deep breath before igniting it, as the yellow light lit up the corridor he did not expect to stand inches away, face to face with a crippled spider creature, the lit up room revealed that the hissing was from multiple spiders, on the ceiling, on the walls, all converging on Erans' position. The creatures were slow but they were made of the same rock as Bendu. Eran took this as a sign they were Bendus' creations, he held the cross guard in front of him as he stood up, the creature hissed again "I thought this planet was supposed to be dead"

He hammered the sword down onto the spider in front of him smashing it into pieces, this act of extreme aggression made the other spiders manic and they all swarmed onto Eran. He then made a full turn, sweeping the saber as he did, several spiders were hit by the swing but this alone made more emerge from the walls, he put the saber in one hand and a blaster in the other, while he was defending himself using the lightsaber he would use the blaster to take shots at any other spiders tempted to attack. The Corridor was not large, with each swing and shot sparks would jump of the walls and ceiling, the only light in the place other than the saber was the brief red flashes from Erans' blaster and the orange ooze that was the burn marks from the cross guard. The Spiders literally leapt at their opponent hoping to bury him, Eran made sure that when they leapt they would leap unto his yellow lightsaber before he would blast what's left of them. When one collapsed Eran found this as an opening to escape and he barged through the crowd of giant insects, the force he put into his pushes was so strong that when he got through the crowd he fell flat onto the floor. In slight embarrassment he immediately attempted to get up but his coat was tagged to a piece of fallen debris and the spiders were closing in, he picked up the blaster and took several shots at the first few, he then reached for the debris in hopes of moving it but a spider was too close, it climbed onto him with its mouth opening about to engulf him. He ignited the saber below the beast piercing a hole right through it, its open mouth became frozen to signify the creatures immediate death.

With one last tug the coat ripped away from the debris and Eran ran as fast as he could, this time not looking back. The thunderclaps continued but the hissing stopped, he found a gap in the wall with a bright light on the other side, he could continue running through the tunnel or make it for the bright light. He would spend longer deciding but the foundations of the cave were beginning to give way now so to avoid being trapped he pushed his way through the gap and made it into the bright light. His eyes were blinded but were slowly accumulating to the change in brightness, it was at that moment he realised where he was, he was back on the surface. He turned back to see that there was no more gap in the rock line, the cave had fallen in on itself. At first he was glad that he was no longer down there until he realised "Fulcrum". She was still down there, trapped with Traya, he could've left her but that was the priest inside him talking, he knew that this was no place for anyone to be marooned on. He had to find her, but the only problem was he couldn't find anyway back down to the temple.


	11. Peace is a lie

_You left us, you left me… When I needed you the most_

"Now I see what this was all about, that's the test isn't it, that's the choice I have to make. Do I give in to my emotions and let you escape, or do I live my life forever alone, wondering if I had the chance of saving the only man I truly cared for"

The air was black and cold, the red glimmer of the device reflected off Ahsoka's sweat. She was exhausted, but you would never know that by looking at her. Despite her ordeal, even now at the brink of death, with no food, no water, no hope, she still held herself in the manner befitting a Jedi. She stood tall and strong, her eyes were heavy yet focused on Traya, her hands mere centimetres away from her lightsabers on her belt, ready to spring into action when all hell breaks loose. There was no point theorizing, she knew it was a trap, they both knew, but the temptation to give in was too strong at this point, she couldn't live with herself knowing there was even a 1% chance Anakin could be saved.

"You love him…"

"Yes"

"You want him redeemed..."

"Yes"

"How far are you willing to go, to save him?"

A deafening horn blew through the temple signifying something was going to happen, the red light emanating from the walls began to move through the symbols and writing, all converging on the central structure, the one that resembles a giant kyber crystal. Electricity crackled through the device and Traya herself dissolved into the floor. Now, Ahsoka was alone with all this commotion surrounding her, she was helpless to what was happening, the walls began to move and change shape. The temple was alive. Between Ahsoka and the device, a hole in the ground opened and rising from it was a pedestal engraved with Sith teachings and magics, upon the pedestal lay a solitary chalice; a black chalice, lined with scripture too obscure to read, what was noticeable were the two crimson diamonds upon the black metal, they were pulsating light in unison. Within the Chalice was what Ahsoka should have expected, silver coloured water, rippling off the side of the cup. When all that was put before her a dark booming voice echoed throughout the chamber, Traya was ready.

"After all I have shown you, all I have said should now demonstrate your resolve. The Jedi are dead, the Sith will soon follow. The galaxy will not mourn their departure. I have foreseen it, the knights of ren will take the mantle as supreme leaders of the galaxy. But it matters not, the dark side has many names and takes many forms, the light is no different! For millennia the galaxy has suffered under the heel of Jedi and Sith alike. The only way for Peace is to destroy them both. The force is a cancer upon the universe. Its will for balance has caused the destruction and tyranny of generations. Only through me can peace come true, only through me can the galaxy achieve enlightenment, only through me can you save your master from his inevitable fate". And with that final word something in Ahsoka snapped and she did what she swore she would never do as a Jedi, she ran.

She ran as fast as her beaten body could carry her, through the ever changing temple and out through the door to the outer courtyard. For a moment she stopped and leaned on a column to regain her strength, her breathing was heavy, she never ran as fast as she did then. _I can't, I won't do it_ she thought, and she knew that Traya was not to be trusted, her words meant nothing. But Anakin, she wanted him back more than anything, she wanted to say sorry and the two could go off on their adventures once more. But it was never going to happen, not like this. However, she loved him all the same, not romantically, but a deep, undying love, between friends, between the best of friends, and deep down she blamed herself for what happened. She began to shiver; she wrapped her arms around herself, imagining that someone was there for her, anyone. Then when all hope had faded, she could hear her former master calling out to her…

"You know that love is not enough snips, you know it isn't going to save me, but you know this place might have the answers you seek. It's time to leave your despairs behind, leave them in the dust, bury them, let the past die. It's time to be who you should be, you now must do what must be done, and it's time to set the force within you free!"

Low on energy and hope, she saw him, as she always wanted him to be

"In just a few moments, the sound of drums will roar. You will stand there, just like before, then temple will hush, and before you know it, I will be with you, once more. You believe in purpose, then fulfil it; fulfil us, complete us, make us whole, seal the bond forevermore, and finally embrace your destiny."

And once more the image was gone; she was once again alone with nothing but her decision. "What am I going to do? What answer can I give? Must I risk my life so that he can live? Can I betray the man who I once called friend, do I become his pray, do I have any choice? He killed them without a thought, he murdered them - ALL OF THEM! Does he deserve a second chance, I know I can't refuse yet I wish I could, If I do this, what will become of me?"

"Fulcrum!"

"This was not the life I wanted"

"Fulcrum?!"

"I'm sorry, do you hear me now, I'M SORRY!"

"Ahsoka, don't think that I don't care, but you are my last hope…"


	12. There is no death

"I would have never made it as Obi-wans padawan, did I make it as yours?"

It was dark and silent, a lonely jedi sits amongst the dead. As she ponders allowed tears fall to the ground, perhaps the first moisture the dirt on Malachor had ever felt since the Scourge. Her tears fall amongst the bodies of those long forgotten, heroes who fought for peace and yet would never be remembered for their bravery. "Tell me, why do we fight if we never seem to win?" she asks yet there is no reply. The only light is the crimson taint of the temple before her, she sits at the entrance looking inward facing the truth that she may never leave this planet. Her tears begin to stop as she comes to her conclusion.

"I know what it is you ask of me, I know what you want me to do. You want me to sacrifice my freedom so that you can escape and reek havoc on the galaxy. Newsflash lady, you're not the first Darkside demon whos tried to take my soul, and the galaxy has enough problems without you interfering. I will not do this, never! You know why? Because I'm doing it for him, my master would never put me in danger, and I won't let you destroy everything he fought for. No matter who he is now I will not forget who he once was. Not just a jedi, but the chosen one. My journey ends here."

She turns and leaves the temple grounds, not once looking back. She approaches the cave entrance when the silent atmosphere is broken be the sound of echoes coming from the cave "Fulcrum! Fulcrum?!" She thought this was another hallucination, she quickened her pace to get to the surface using her lightsaber as a torch to guide her, the cave system began to look familiar to the way she and the ghost crew entered, she was on the right path but the voice was still getting closer. "Fulcrum!" she turned to look behind and saw nothing but darkness which was pointless as she ran into the origin of the voice. The two bumped and looked astonished at the others presence "Eran?" it was him, still alive it seemed. "Fulcrum we have to get outta here" she quickly halted his sentence "I know the way out is-" they both knew the answer and pointed in the same direction "This way" they said in unison. It was at this moment they both realised that waiting in the cave was useless so Ahsoka headed for the surface with Eran following close behind.

As they were speeding through the cave system whether it was for the sake of urgency or that they were both panicked the two communed on what happened "Where did you go?" Ahsoka asked in a way that she could enquire yet still make her way through the caves "Oh y'know the usual, following a bird then got talking to a big head and lost track of time, I know who the priests are by the way" Ahsoka responded "are you member by any chance?" Eran stopped in his tracks, he looked at Ahsoka in shock, Ahsoka stopped also to look at him, his face made the _how did you know_ expression, she clarified "Well I know your not a jedi and your not an inquisitor because you would of killed me so what else were you going to be" He crossed his arms to try and make himself look stronger than he is "oh yeah, well did you know that our presence here is caused by those markings to lure us here to defeat Traya? Did you know that Fulcrum?" Ahsoka turned and continued running "Don't call me that, my name is Ahsoka" Eran followed "So you lied to me, I'm actually proud of you, hey um, Ahsoka? Just one thing-" At that moment light appeared at the end of the tunnel and the two made it out of the dark and into daytime, they had reached the surface.

"What?"

"How are we going to get off-world"

She then finally stopped for good, she would rather keep on running but she knew she had to explain to him what her plan was. "We're not" He looked at her again oddly, but this face was more of confusion and dred than before "I'm not, I'm done running" Eran looked back at the cave then to her "You just ran all the way here" Ahsoka saw his logic even if it was said sarcastically "What she offers I do not want, even if that means I will die here, but I die knowing that she will be imprisoned forever more. I'm sorry" Eran looked amazed at what he had just heard, for a moment he went slightly manic and walked in circles at the prospect of his death "I can't believe it I'm gonna die here, I'm gonna die with a psychopathic ghost downstairs and a Togruta who has accepted her fate as a cadaver, great" He walks into a pile of wreckage nearby she assumes was his crashed ship, she stood there for a long time observing him making a fire from pieces of the ship, the two did not speak to each other but Eran often spoke to himself however it was to vague for anyone to understand.

When night fell the fire was ready and Eran sat as close as he could without getting burned, his arms wrapped around himself, Ahsoka finally approached also and sat opposite him with the fire in the middle of the two. Time passed without a word being spoke, she knew he didn't want to die but her conviction not to give into temptation was too great. "Do you regret coming here?" She said, his shivers stopped for him to look at her in a sarcastic manner "what do you think?" She briefly chuckled, something she hadn't done in a long time but reality kicked back in instantly "I don't" his cold demeanor changed to an inquisitive one to understand why she meant that "I mean yes I don't want to die, but I have this feeling that I was always going to end up here, this place, It's like I've seen it in my dreams". Eran responded "I know what that feels like, and I know you mean well by staying". This time Ahsoka looked confused, Eran didn't say anything but he moved he sleeve upwards to reveal his tattoo, this time glowing white with no sign of fading, Ahsoka was going to ask how the tattoo works but she refrained herself, she suspected that the whiteness meant something good. Eran opened a box from his belt, inside were some rations but he took no notice of them, it seemed he too accepted death and allowed starvation to take its course. He did however take a holorecorder from the box and activated it "This is Eranus Shan, last entry. It seemed I did find what I was looking for after all, and as I predicted, I'm not going to get off this rock. I have made the most amazing discovery however, a soul that may be more lost than I am, and maybe its fitting you hear her words more than mine" He passes the recorder to her, she hesitantly takes it and has no clue what to say "My name is Ahsoka and um, I'm a- a Togruta from Shili. I came here in search of knowledge and-" she stopped and looked across the fire at Eran before finishing her sentence "and I wish that my search was not in vain" she put the holorecorder down beside her after switching it off "boy am I glad to be with you" Eran replied to her act.

The was little conversation that followed, they both fell cold and could hear nothing, not even the sound of wind across the landscape, they were the only two beings alive on that planet. Ahsoka was so faint, her head was in her lap, her stomach yearning for food and water. She managed to raise her head to see Eran, he too was exhausted and close to death but at that moment in the corner of her eye she saw a light, at first she thought it was a reflection or a mirage but after she rubbed her eyes, she could see it a flickering light in the damaged cockpit of the ship. She slowly stood up and entered the remains of the vessel and there on the dashboard a blinking orange light, she pressed a few buttons to try and see what it meant, she randomly bashed the bored and then she heard a voice through the comms "this is Alderaan cruiser SS-25 calling on all channels on behalf of Senator Organa, Fulcrum can you hear me, this is Spektor are you receiving me, repeat this is Spektor" Ahsoka was filled with happiness to know that her rebel friends haven't given up on her, she frantically pushes buttons and speaks as loud as she can "yes this Fulcrum I'm alive, we need immediate evac, repeat this is Fulcrum!" but there was no response from the cruiser and before long the noise turned to muffled sound and the orange light had stopped.

Ahsoka fell to the floor in tears, she was in agony and she was reminded of her commitment to staying, but that moment proved that she wanted to leave more than anything else. She looked out onto the camp and saw Eran in a vegetative state, he was close now too. Her breathing was heavy and when she tried to call out to him instead came coughs, heavy coughs, felt like her insides were trying to get out, she gagged and coughed so much that she collapsed on the floor and blood came out of her throat. She lay there looking at it. But there was something strange about it, her blood was shimmering silver...


	13. Journey's end

For a moment Eran had the strength to open his eyes to see that he was still beside the fire on a desolate planet, his gaze looked over the horizon, the crashed ship and most astonishingly the lack of his Togruta friend. "Ahsoka? Ahsoka where are you?" He forced himself to move from his seated position to investigate the area, he approached the location of where she was seated opposite him and saw that where she was supposed to be seated lay his holorecorder. He then thought that she might of entered the cockpit for shelter (he never really cared for shelter himself) so he picked up the recorder and approached the wreckage and found evidence that someone had been messing with the controls, but no Togruta. He fiddled with the buttons and found a signal from a nearby ship, the instruments read that the ship was orbiting the planet but made no attempt at landing "so she hasn't left the planet" he activated the dashboard and sent a distress signal to the ship _let's hope it arrives_ he thought then as he was leaving the cockpit he saw a chrome like mark on the floor, he knelt to see that it was blood but infected by some other substance "Ahsoka, she drank from the pool!" with that revelation he lept into action and knew exactly where she was heading, back to the temple.

"At last you have arrived, have you accepted your fate?" Traya stood before her, the room was illuminated with shades of red and purple, darkside energy coursing through the stone monuments and at its center was the pedestal and the chalice just as it once was. "I know that you have poisoned me, or possessed me, something evil at least" Traya turned to face the Jedi "You never wanted to leave so why should it matter? Unless you're still not too sure, I can see it in your eyes, you still want to save him, there has always been a way out young one, drink from the chalice and all would be put right"

Ahsoka knew it was a trap but the temptation was too strong, she took a step to the pedestal, the sound of drums echoed through the catacombs, she reluctantly reached out to lift the chalice, she looked into the silver water and saw a future where she could be happy. At that moment the drums stopped. Everything stopped, no sound, not even a whisper. She closed her eyes and was ready to drink from the cup.

"Ahsoka NO!" Eran yelled as he ran in, breaking the silence. But it was too late, Ahsoka had already taken a sip and all Traya needed was one drop in Ahsoka's veins to enter her mind. She fell into a coma, dropping the chalice and spilling what was left of the liquid across the floor, the room now echoed with a sinister cackle as Traya dispersed into a black mist and physically entered Ahsoka's body but only after she spoke one final sentence to Eran, "She's mine now".

When the mist entered, the body rose and Ahsoka's eyes now shone red, without saying anything the twisted figure standing before Eran reached for its Lightsaber, ignited it and pounced on him. In quick response Eran got his yellow saber and clashed with Ahsokas. As their weapons were locked he could see the fury in her eyes and how her veins were turning black, like an infectious cancer was spreading across her body.

" _Where am I?" she whispered as she awoke. Ahsoka could see that her surroundings were different yet held similar qualities to her previous location. It was a ruined temple. The walls were not glowing red, they were scorched with imprints of blaster fire, from outside she could hear the sound of ships flying past underlaid by the distant sound of children screaming accompanied by lightsaber noises. At first she didn't recognise where she was, she had been away long enough to forget it, but soon she realised where she was, she was in the Jedi temple on Coruscant. Around her lay the familiar faces of Jedi younglings and padawans she used to know, cut down in the most horrific manner. From behind her shone a blue light, at first she thought it was a lightsaber but noticed that it was coming from a blue holo projection, it was held by a single solitary Arc trooper, the figure in the projection was cloaked and hidden but spoke in a deep, menacing voice "execute order 66" the clone responded as any soldier does "yes my lord" before turning to face Ahsoka, she then understood who this clone trooper was "Rex?" but instead of answering the captain armed himself with his signature two pistols and fired upon her._

 _She ducked and jumped into cover behind one of the temples monumental pillars, she tried to see him but everytime she attempted to get out of cover shots were fired at her. She decided to speak to him from behind the pillar "Rex please! Why are you doing this!?" For a moment the soldier stopped shooting and responded "Good soldiers follow orders, and a good general does not abandon her post!" She saw her chance to escape, she jumped out of cover and force pushed him into the wall, then she ran as fast as she could through a doorway and closed it behind her._

Eran never liked using a lightsaber, too many bad memories. But he found himself in a duel with a possessed Jedi and so hard times call for hard measures and he was forced to use his saber just to try to prolong his life. His assailants ability was unprecedented, each attack she gave him was flawless, each clash of their sabers caused his stance to falter and he constantly became unbalanced, Eran favoured a defensive stance because he knew that if he hurt her, he would hurt Ahsoka so he tried desperately to defend himself without going on the offense. He could not keep up with her acrobatic flips and twirls yet he maintained his defensive position. Ahsoka then leaped at the opportunity to strike him, he rolled out of the way and revealed his blaster rifle shooting a myriad of shots at her, all the shots were to stun her but they were to no avail as she managed to dodge every single one of them. She halted for a moment and force pushed him into the wall of the temple, this burst of power made Eran drop the rifle but he still clung to his saber. There was no damage on the wall when he collided with it but his back stung incredibly. He suspected that it might of been fractured but he couldn't assess the wound due to Ahsoka's continued attacks onto him. He managed to halt her hits by clashing sabers with her, she held the high ground while he was on his knees trying to gain strength. He had to gain strength because there was nowhere left to run.

 _The ancient jedi temples' corridors were altering as Ahsoka ventured through them, the stone slabs were changing to sleek metal, her environments now resembled another location of her past, the interior of an old republic cruiser. The environment wasn't much different than the temple, it was old and broken. Wires were dangling from the ceiling, the floor was delicate, any false move and Ahsoka thought she might fall through. The only sound Ahsoka could hear was the tears of a man at the end of the corridor. She knew she should of stayed put but her determination kept her moving forward. The cries grew louder, the ceiling lights flickered to life and there sitting with his hands covering his face in depression was Lux Bonteri._

" _By the force Lux what happened to you?"_

 _The boy lowered his hands to reveal a battered, scarred and scared face of her old friend. His right eye was so damaged Ahsoka could not see it, his left eye however revealed what he was thinking. She saw hatred and disgust within him, blood spat from his mouth as he ushered his words "This? This is what happens when you trust a Jedi" Ahsoka could not look at him, she always meant to return to him after Onderon, but she never did. Before she could say anything Lux jumped onto her in a manic state, he hurtled several punches onto her, some missed, some hit. She could tell he was in pain but he didn't care, the pain was worth it if it meant he could attack her. In the frenzied state with Ahsoka tackled to the ground, without hesitation she force pushed Lux away from her. However he simply stood up and limbed toward her again "my mother, then Steela and now me, everyone close to you dies don't they!" he was about to pounce again but the floor beneath them gave way and Lux fell through the cracks into darkness. The last look she had of him was that of anger. "Lux?!" there was no answer._

" _I can't leave him again" She dived into the pitch black abyss to follow him not knowing how far the fall went. Even though she dived forward she miraculously landed on her feet, the fall felt long but the landing was gentle, no damage was felt on her legs. However there was also no sign of Lux. "Hello? Lux!" suddenly lights illuminated where she was, before her were a line of white rooms with glass panels on one side allowing Ahsoka to see into. All of them were empty, bar one._

 _In one of these chambers stood a girl wrapped in chains, her manic expression caught Ahsoka off balanced, not because she was a new face but rather the opposite, this was someone Ahsoka knew too well "Barriss". The Mirialan's eyes were different, they were fiery and painful to look into, a psychotic smile etched into her face and a laughter expressing her newfound insanity "Dear old Ahsoka, your so funny" Ahsoka was hesitant to respond but she knew it was required "why's that Barriss?"_

" _You left the Jedi, your friends, your family, and you think that we won't be mad at you for doing so? The only reason I'm here is because of you"_

" _That's not true, you left too Barriss"_

" _I know isn't it hilarious, that I, your best friend betrayed the order, and so did your master!"_

 _She laughed and laughed to the point that she couldn't breath, her green skin was turning pale. A sound of doors unlocking from either side of Ahsoka revealing 4 Jedi temple guards, 2 on each side "cease hostilities!" they demanded as they ignited their yellow saber staffs. Barriss was still laughing as Ahsoka armed herself with her white lightsabers but before the assailants reached her they suddenly morphed into another shape. The armor turned black and sleek, the saber staffs turned red and the corridor turned damp cold and dark around them. Stood around her were inquisitors about to launch their sabers upon her. She didn't care, she was ready to face all of them._

 _But then, the chains around Barriss fell away to reveal rags, her face was now as white as Ahsoka's saber and her eyes turned as dark as black holes. Her young figure turned decrepit and old as her height altered into a tall imposing figure, "Traya". As Ahsoka uttered the word Traya propelled her arm forward force pushing ahsoka through the wall behind her. This act made the ceiling cave in and as Ahsoka landed she found there was no way back into that chamber._

 _For a moment she thought she was safe as her new surroundings were exactly where she started, the heart of the temple on Malachor. The device once again at the centre with beams of light reaching into the sky above her. Her brief moment of freedom was shattered when she saw two figures before her. One a former jedi lying on the ground blinded, injured to the point of collapse, the other figure, smaller than the first stood above him trying desperately to provide the other directions and aiding him in his injury. It was Kanan and Ezra. Two faces Ahsoka had only known for a month at most but the impact they had on her was profound all the same._

 _Ezra saw Ahsoka and called for her aid "Please, its Kanan, Maul attacked him, I think he's dying!" Ahsoka immediately rushed to his aid "don't worry Ezra he'll be okay-" but the moment she touched Kanan he fell to the ground in misery, and he died then and there. Ezra was petrified, he had never thought something like this would happen, he looked at her in a way that only symbolises one thing, that she failed him. "Ezra I'm so sorry-" but before she continued a lightsaber impaled Ezra from behind and he too fell to his death revealing the killer behind him. She had faced the faces of her past and she knew that at some moment she'd face this one, but when it happens all the preparations you make become redundant. Standing before her was Darth Vader._

" _You should be proud my apprentice"_

" _Why?"_

" _You saw what many Jedi around you could not"_

" _What's that?"_

" _The hypocrisy and the failures of a dying religion. It is a shame that you clung onto their doctrine even in exile. You had potential young one, but now, the master will kill the student"_

 _In anger Ahsoka reached for her weapons and made a flurry of moves and hits on vader. But to no avail, each attack she did was blocked by her opponent, before he raised his arm and using the force, grabbed her throat. She elevated in the air with her hands dropping her sabers and trying desperately to breath. Vader held her in place letting her live long enough to know she had failed, in a last bid for escape she mustered the strength to say a single word "Anakin" there was a moment of silence between the two, a few seconds where she thought she had finally got to him. "Anakin skywalker is dead, allow me to reunite you with him"_

Eran found an opening and rolled out of the way of Ahsoka's attacks. He regained his posture and stood in a defensive manner preparing for her next string of moves. As Eran does in every situation he uses his voice to make the mood less imposing "c'mon fulcrum its me, y'know the guy you just met" but that made her even more angry and her attempts at damaging him became more unbalanced but harder to avoid. "Okay Traya answer me this, what are you gonna do once I'm dead" The two clashed sabers once more allowing the possessed Ahsoka to answer "once I'm in control, I'll leave this prison and reek my revenge on the Jedi, the Sith and your pathetic cult" Eran never knew when to shut up "you want to kill the knights of ren? The guys who made my life a living hell? Be my guest" The swords unlocked, the possessed Ahsoka force pushed Eran into the entrance of the doorway, damaging his spine even more. His sword was just beyond his reach, he couldn't move. He reached as far as he could but it was no use. Ahsoka knew he was paralyzed and so she walked slowly towards him, chuckling under her breath. Eran took no notice and continued reaching. Then he noticed something, standing beside the saber was the Convor bird from before with its inquisical look upon Eran, he was confused as to the birds explanation but sensed it meant something was going to happen. It made a final chirp before Eran realised that standing above him Ahsoka was raising her lightsaber, about to land it on Eran.

She struck at him. Eran anticipated the brief moment of pain followed by death, but it didn't come. He opened his eyes to peek at what happened, there in front of him was the possessed Ahsoka as he remembered it but her saber was frozen in mid air. Ahsoka relented knowing that someone had used the force to block her attack. She then looked up into the entrance, a strong white light beamed onto her. Eran turned to face it as well, the convor was gone but the light beyond was blinding. Then out of the light strode an emerald haired woman with white and gold robes floating to the ground, her face was youthful and full of light, it was like he knew her yet she was a stranger at the same time. She ignored him, focusing on Ahsoka. Ahsoka tried to attack but before anything she was held in place by the woman screaming for help. The woman spoke, her voice echoed in-side Eran's head "You have no power here, servant of the dark, I release you from your prison, and from your pain".

She shone bright, so bright that Eran closed his eyes as the light washed over him. When it did the room fell silent, the red scripture on the walls were gone, all was calm again. Standing before him was Ahsoka gasping for breath. "What just happened?" He asked her but the look on her face was still as it was, whatever happened it did nothing. She lifted Eran with her cold hands strangling him with them.

"You think your parlour tricks would save you! I fear nothing!"

"It wasn't a trick"

"I will not be denied again, what did you think would happen, you think you can save her?"

"No, just thought I could give her some time"

" _You walk the halls of my mind Traya? Now you get to see what lies inside" An explosion of light released Ahsoka from Vader's grip, the power radiating now from her was strong. The walls of the temple were falling in, the facade that was Vader now showed its true colours, it was Traya, looking the weakest she ever did._

" _What did you do?"_

" _It's my mind, my rules, I drank the poison, that means our minds have connected, the daughter allowed it to work both ways"_

 _The setting eroded away and instead around Traya was a battlefield with Mandalorians fighting Jedi. The hate and fury would usually be music to her, but this was no ordinary battle. "You think this will work on me?!"_

" _What's the matter, you sound pretty scared"_

 _From the chaos came two individuals, a shadowy figure wrapped in black robes, only distinguishable by its skeletal mask and a corpse like man, his body held together by pure hate. The two approached Traya, the cadaver man spoke while the other silently looked on "We never needed you". Traya screamed in defiance and the two dissipated. Echoes of voices making out only vague sounds of speech; "exile" and "betrayer" escalated around her. Then, from the ash one more figure approached her, a jedi, wearing a mandalorian mask "no, not you, anyone but you!" the Jedi ignited his blue saber and struck Traya to the ground. Her screams shattered the world around her and Ahsoka felt the connection dwindling. From above the darkened sky turned white, dawn was approaching, the light swallowed Ahsoka whole._

Ahsoka woke in an unknown place. Before her lay the remains of the temple entrance, above the doorway she could see the famous white marked scripture finally fade from the wall. For the first time since reaching the planet she felt at peace. Behind her was an unconscious Eran, he was in a bad shape but was alive at least. She wondered how she got to where she was but then it hit her "hello again old friend" from out of the temple came the daughter, an old ally Ahsoka met on Mortis, an old ally long thought dead. "Hello again, Ahsoka Tano"

"I never got to say thank you for saving me"

"There is no death, only the force"

"Still what you did on mortis and now here on Malachor, I would never of done it without you"

"I have done nothing, the defeat of Traya is your victory. I no longer walk the universe like I once did. Back on Mortis, when I healed you, I saw an opening, a way to cheat death and live inside your mind"

"I thought there was no death"

"I am no longer the daughter, I am a projection of the life force she creates, that you create. I had taken the form of one of your Convors to watch over you"

"I have to admit, I was scared, but I went into that temple knowing I had to defeat her, I had faith"

"That is why you won"

The Temple begins to rupture causing the two's conversation to halt. The daughter turned and then became saddened. A sadness that she knew was coming. "There is no death Ahsoka, but it comes for us all in the end" Ahsoka knew that this was the end, she suspected since the moment her ship landed that she might never leave "I know"

"Traya is gone, but the temple persists, even now the library of knowledge is repairing itself, drawing what little energy the planet has to rebuild the academy. This place amplifies energy, for too long that energy has been that of the dark side. When my brother learned of the scourge he dreamt of coming here, to witness the decay. It has to end"

"Your going to enter the machine aren't you. Like Traya"

"It is the only way"

Without hesitation Ahsoka said "do it" but the daughter did not. She held Ahsoka's hands to deliver the true message. "You do not understand, if you let me go, then the wound returns. Only I could of held it back. If I do this -"

"I'll die" She had fought for so long that she did not expect that this would be how it would end. Ahsoka had thought she might of died in a flurry of blaster fire from droids surrounded by her friends. She never thought she'd go out like this. She took one last look at Eran, still unconscious, then back to the daughter "I'm ready" the two let go of eachother and within the blink of an eye the daughter vanished. A sudden pain struck her head causing her to fall to her knees, she then reaches for her expected lightsaber wound but there was none. _I don't understand_ she thought _, vader killed me back in the chamber right?_ Then it all came back to her. Vader spared her life. The fatal wound Ahsoka was now experiencing was the Brothers infection back on Mortis. "He spared me" that one fact circled her head, it dawned on her that there was good in Vader after all, Anakin skywalker was still alive.

A shocking burst of energy flew out of the temple and hurtled into the stormy sky, with a huge flash lightning and thunder spread across the clouds and she could feel it on her face, rain drops, she could taste it in her mouth. Water, proper water. She couldn't help but smile as the first rainfall occured on Malachor in thousands of years, purifying the land. The joy was short lived however as the wound in Ahsoka's head grew stronger. Her thoughts were not sad however or frightened, she felt glad that this was how her story would end. With life returning to Malachor.

But one final thought slipped into her head, she approached Eran's unconscious body and got out his holorecorder…

Eran awoke in a calm setting, the humming of engines was like music to him. However it soon dawned on him that when he passed out, he wasn't on a spaceship. He forced himself awake to find that he was in the medbay of an unknown ship. He knew it wasn't imperial cause they'd never put him in the medbay. A dark haired rebel entered the room "ah your awake, thought we lost you there, lieutenant Cassian Andor, please don't get up you can explain everything when we reach Mon Mothma" with that the rebel left the room. Eran was left alone with nothing but amnesia of what happened. He saw that on a side table lay his belongings minus his weapons which had been obviously confiscated, but there on the table lay his holorecorder, and it was flashing telling him there had been a new entry. He reached for it and pressed play.

"I am Ahsoka Tano; Jedi knight, Padawan to the chosen one and the most incredible man I had the honour of knowing. I have faced Separatists, Mandalorians, Sith and more droids than I can count, I am a Veteran of the clone Wars and a Rebel, I have seen God's wage war on eachother, friends turn to enemy, the rise of the empire and the destruction of the only family I know. And all of that is history now, that story, my story is at an end. Eran Shan, my story is in your hands, and I hope you share my tale to others who dream of being heroes themselves, do not glorify my victories, do not use my memory as a cry for war, continue your search for truth, one day you will find it, I believe that. Master? I do not know if you can hear me master, but I hope you can. I left the order not because I was betrayed and it certainly wasn't because of you, I left because I wanted to know what my purpose in this galaxy was, was I destined just to be another dead jedi like the ones around me, or could I be something more. Here at last, I now know the answer. My journey to save you is at an end. No more wallowing in pity, no more looking across the years I have wasted, my life is one of many, and the galaxy would not suffer if it ended. You will be saved Anakin, I know it, but not like this, not now and not here, and it will not be me who does it. Why, because I am Ahsoka Tano, Jedi knight and testament to the victories of Anakin Skywalker, I am she who Vader will always try to forget, maybe one day he will forget me, one day the memory of me will be as vague and mysterious as Malachor. But I will never forget you sky guy"...


End file.
